


True Demons (Reverse!Bill Cipher x Reader)

by KK_Shadows_Within



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reverse Falls, Magic, Physical Abuse, Reader-Insert, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-06-10 07:23:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 29,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6945475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KK_Shadows_Within/pseuds/KK_Shadows_Within
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You - as the reader - were a little unsure when your two cousins, Dipper and Mabel, accepted your request to come and stay with them in their mansion for a while. You were expecting something strange to be happening but you weren't quite prepared for a blue dream demon to steal your heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: Nice To Meet You... I Think

Your legs were cramping terribly as you stepped out of the stuffy bus and into the crisp evening air. Sitting in the same position for what felt like an eternity would do that to a person. Your bags felt heavier than they had been when you initially climbed on the bus. Still, you had finally arrived. Gravity Falls was a bit… underwhelming from what you could currently see but you had arrived nevertheless.

Before you could stretch a little, a man walked over to you. He was dressed formally in a black suit; making everybody around him seem quite underdressed. His hair was slicked back perfectly and you almost reached up to try and smooth the mess that you were sure was your hair.

“Miss (y/n) (l/n),” he stated. “I’m here to collect you and any luggage you may have. My name is Soos. I work for the Gleeful Family.” He spoke so formally it was almost uncomfortable.

“Okay,” you replied softly. Your voice cracked a little from lack of use and you flinched a little in embarrassment.

Soos didn’t say anything more. He picked up the bags that you weren’t holding with ease and walked them over to a large black limo that was waiting in the road. Your eyes went wide and you hurried after him. A limo? Seriously?

He took the bag you were holding and placed it in the boot, quickly loading the others at a speed that must have been superhuman. Before you could even grab a second bag to hand to him, he was placing down the last one.

Soos shut the boot and gestured for you to follow him. He opened one of the limo’s doors and gestured for you to climb into the car.

“Uh… thanks?” you said wearily. You weren’t used to something like that and you weren’t sure how you were meant to react. As you slid into the seat, you wondered if you had done something wrong.

“Took you long enough,” a cold voice remarked, dragging you out of your thoughts. “Were you dragging your feet on purpose? I’d advise you quicken the pace next time or you’re going to be fired on the spot.”

“I’m sorry Miss Gleeful,” Soos said as he got behind the wheel. “I didn’t mean to take so long. It won’t happen again.”

“It had better not,” she replied smoothly.

“Mabel?” you asked, staring at the woman across from you. She had changed a lot since you had last seen her. Her hair was longer and her eyes were colder but you were more distracted by the knife that she was twirling in her fingers. The blade glinted in the light coming through the tinted windows.

A smirk appeared on her perfectly made up lips and she nodded. “Were you expecting somebody else?”

“I wasn’t expecting anybody to be honest,” you admitted. When you were younger, you had always felt intimidated by Mabel’s presence. It had only grown worse as the years went on.

“Well I could hardly let my favorite cousin _walk_ to the mansion,” Mabel said, a humorless laugh following after. “We have a reputation to withhold after all. Can you imagine what the town would think if they saw somebody related to the Gleefuls trudging through the mud?”

You laughed with her, how nervous you were was very obvious. “I would have probably avoided mud or anything like that.”

Mabel pursed her lips. “Still, it would most certainly not do.” Her false grin returned soon after and she picked up a golden slip of paper off the chair next to her. She held it out to you and your eyes were drawn to her stiletto nails which looked sharp enough to stab somebody.

“What is this?” you asked, taking it from her wearily.

“That is a gold season pass to all of the shows in the Tent of Telepathy,” Mabel said in a sharp tone that implied you should have known what it was. “It is extremely expensive and hard to get. Many people would kill for one. It offers the best seats, first class serving throughout the show, and a backstage pass. You had better not lose it.”

You stared down at the ticket, pondering just how valuable it actually was. “You’re just giving this to me?” you asked. “Without anything attached to it?”

Mabel smiled at you and started spinning the knife in her hands again. “Call it a family benefit. There’s a show starting in 45 minutes. Soos is going to drop us off at the Tent and then take your bags up to the mansion. They will all be there when you arrive later on.”

“That’s great!” you exclaimed. Upon seeing the look on Mabel’s face, you rushed to clarify. “I’ve been wanting to see one of your shows for a while now,” you explained. “I’ve heard a lot about them and apparently they’re brilliant.”

“Of course they are,” Mabel responded smugly. “And now you’ll be able to tell everyone that you were able to experience one from the best possible seats.”

The limo rolled to a stop not long after her comment and Soos opened the door for both you and Mabel. You thanked him again when you got out but you didn’t manage to say anything else in awe of the tent in front of you. It was absolutely colossal. Blues and whites made up the main color scheme and lights twinkled from the roof and the trees all around.

“This is amazing,” you breathed.

The limo pulled away behind you and Mabel walked over to where you were standing. At first you startled, thinking that she had had a huge growth spurt since you last saw her, but you quickly noticed that her height was mainly due to her heels. Her sparkling blue heels.

“You have about 32 minutes until the show starts,” Mabel told you. “I’m heading backstage to get ready. You’re free to do whatever you want until it starts but don’t go wondering off into the woods. It’s extremely weird in there.”

“Where’s Dipper though?” you asked. “I haven’t seen him yet?”

Mabel shrugged. “No idea. I don’t keep tabs on him. Don’t worry about that. You’ve got the gold pass so you can just head backstage after the show and you can see him then.” She walked off and people parted in front of her. You had to admit, that was the first time you had seen something like it. Your cousins really did seem like celebrities in this town.

Shoving your hands in your pockets, you glanced around for something to do. There were a surprisingly large amount of people hanging around for a show that only started in half an hour. You would think that in a small town, they wouldn’t need to arrive with that amount of time to spare.

You turned your attention to the line of trees that bordered the property. Mabel had said that they were weird but you couldn’t really see why. They looked perfectly normal to you. If anything, you were feeling drawn to them. Like you wanted to go and explore just to see what it was all about. It was probably better not to annoy Mabel though and besides, you didn’t want to miss the show.

It took a surprising amount of effort to turn away from the trees and find something else to focus your attention on instead.

~*~*~*~

The tent erupted into a loud, final cheer as Mabel and Dipper bowed to the audience before retreating back behind the thick blue curtains. You joined in with the applause. You couldn’t deny that you were blown away with how real the twins’ performance looked. Even though you were sitting so close to the stage, you didn’t see a single error.

Hearing how the crowd was reacting made you almost feel proud to be related to the two. While the majority of the people poured back out of the tent, you dodged around them and headed backstage where Mabel promised you were allowed to be due to your ticket. Although when you were looking around, you didn’t see anybody who would stop you if you didn’t have it. There were no guards or anything like that.

Mabel was pretty easy to spot. She was standing in front of a floor-length mirror, fiddling with the band in her hair. “Took you long enough,” she remarked in her cold voice. “Did you get distracted by something?”

“Uh… no,” you responded. “I just don’t know how to teleport.”

She scoffed and stopped her preening. The smile that had been on her face throughout the show had faded almost completely. “You should probably learn how to if you’re going to keep up,” she said. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“It was far better than what I had expected it to be,” you said. It was the absolute truth. “I’m not normally interested in things like this but it was amazing and you look absolutely stunning in that outfit.”

Mabel smiled properly at your flattery. “I know. It’s one of my favorite things to wear. I only wish that I could wear it all the time. It really accentuates my best features, wouldn’t you say?”

“Completely,” you agreed. This was a game you had played since you were kids. You appealed to Mabel’s vanity and she pretended to like you for a few hours. It kept your parents off your case for the most part and made sure Mabel liked you at least a bit. Never worked on Dipper though. Speaking of which… “Where is Dipper anyway?”

Mabel pulled a face at the mention of her twin. “He’s dealing with the secret to our show,” she said but it sounded more rehearsed than what she had been saying up on stage.

“A secret?” you asked. You cursed how easily your tone betrayed the curiosity lying underneath. “What kind of secret?”

“A magical one,” Mabel responded. She was taunting you. “Everybody has at least one right? I can imagine you have quite a few that you wouldn’t tell me about. Dipper and I agreed that this would remain family only.”

“But I am family,” you pointed out. “I’m your cousin so technically I should be allowed to know.”

Mabel laughed. It was cold and sent shivers down your spine. “Of course,” she said. “You are family after all and it would irritate Dipper to no extent. Besides, even if you did tell anybody, I doubt they would believe you.”

“Of course not,” you agreed. “You’re the one that people believe. You got all the talent and the showmanship that makes them want to listen to you.”

“I got the looks too,” she added on. She sighed. “I suppose it really wouldn’t hurt as long as I make you swear not to tell a soul.” Her tone was mocking and patronizing but you were relatively sure it was aimed at Dipper as opposed to you. They never did get along that well.

She led you further into the tent while stopping occasionally to run her fingers through her hair or adjust her clothes when you went past a reflective surface. She brought you to a door and gestured for you to be quiet while she knocked on it. “Dipper,” she called in a sing-song voice. “You have to come and say hello to (y/n)!”

The door opened and you were greeted by the thoroughly unimpressed face of your cousin. “Mabel, I’m busy!” Dipper snapped. “I don’t have time for this now!”

“Hey Dipper,” you greeted. He glanced over at you for a second before turning his attention back to Mabel. He never had liked you.

Mabel flicked her knife at him, missing his face by mere inches. Dipper didn’t flinch. “I told (y/n) that I’m going to introduce her to Will,” Mabel cooed. “And you’re kind of hogging the door. Could you disappear for a bit?”

His eyes narrowed. “There’s not a chance. I told you that I wanted to limit the amount of people he interacts with.”

The female twin rolled her eyes and held her knife up to Dipper’s cheek. “Oh come on. She’s one person and she is family after all.” Mabel chuckled. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? She’s going to meet him sometime.”

“Because you’ve decided on it,” Dipper summarized. He glared at both of you before taking a step back into the room and leaving the door ajar. Mabel always seemed to win these things if you were going by her past track record.

“After you,” Mabel teased. She gave a small bow and held her hand out to the door.

You hadn’t really been expecting to see another person standing in the room with Dipper. He was standing at quite a distance from your cousin but they appeared to be the same height. His hair and the suit he was wearing was blue. An eyepatch sat over his left eye and he wore a top hat. He only met your eyes for a second before turning his attention to the floor but it was enough for you to notice the unnatural color.

Mabel broke your concentration before you could properly register it. She seemed very smug about your blank stare. “Tell me (y/n), have you ever met a dream demon before?”

A what exactly?


	2. Chapter 2: Something's A Little Strange

Not once in your life did you ever think that pigs were hateful creatures. It seemed like they were far too lazy to feel such an emotions. Mabel’s pig – Waddles – however was quickly changing your perception of pigs in general. He had a look in his beady, little eyes that told you he was plotting your demise and it probably wouldn’t be pleasant.

He was an intimidating creature and you didn’t feel like being anywhere within the range of the giant tusks that poked through his mouth. He closely resembled a large razorback boar even though Mabel assured you that he wasn’t feral. You didn’t believe her in the slightest.

Normally you tried your hardest to ignore him and trust Mabel to not let him try to skewer you. The twins were both out though and while you had initially thought it to be a good thing, you were starting to change your mind.

There was no way for you to curl up with a book and read when Waddles insisted on following you around the entire mansion. You would barely sit down and he would start grunting and snorting loudly until you got up again. It was that very reason why you found yourself sitting on one of the large kitchen counters and fixing him with a steely gaze over the top of your book. You still hadn’t managed to start reading it properly.

Waddles settled down against the stove and met your gaze with his own dark glare. You were in a staring match with a pig. It sounded a little strange when you thought about it like that.

Somebody clearing their throat was what tore your attention away from the pig. Will stood in the entrance to the kitchen, his head hanging lower than usual and his eye looking quite puffy. He still wouldn’t meet your eyes when he spoke to you but at least he had stopped stammering every time you said something to him.

“Hi,” you greeted. You checked out of the corner of your eye for any sign of movement before continuing. “I didn’t know you were still here. I thought you would have headed out with Dipper and Mabel.”

Will nodded slowly. “I was meant to but Dipper thought it would be safer to not leave you completely alone. He says that you’re not entirely trustworthy. Mabel argued with him because she thinks you’re her favorite cousin. Dipper still wanted me to stay though.”

You gave a humorless laugh. “That’s only because I constantly flatter her. If I didn’t, she’d probably hate me just as much as everybody else.” The mild resentment in your tone was obvious even to you. The fact that you had to constantly complement her just to get her to tolerate you… Normal cousins either liked you or didn’t, there was no conditions applied.

Will hesitated before shaking his head. “I don’t think so. There are a lot of people that complement her often but she still doesn’t like them. I believe she does have some degree of affection towards you.”

“Well, I suppose that is… somewhat comforting,” you admitted. “Do you think that she’ll tell Waddles to leave me alone? Or maybe you could make him vanish into a cloud of smoke?” You paused. “Can you do that? I don’t actually know much about your abilities.”

“Technically I could if my powers were available but the bindings around the mansion prevents my magic,” he explained quickly. “I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’ve been ordered not to touch Mabel’s things either so going outside won’t work.”

You bit your tongue. How had he known you were going to suggest that? “She’s always been rather possessive.” You slowly slid off of the counter, watching Waddles all the while. With somebody else around, you were feeling a little more confident that he wouldn’t charge you. “He really doesn’t like me.”

“It’s got nothing to do with you. Waddles only likes one person and that’s Mabel,” Will explained.

“Is there anywhere in this mansion that he won’t or can’t follow me to?” you asked. “Just to hold out until the twins get back and I can ask Mabel to make him stop.”

Will thought about it for a second before giving a small nod. “There is the roof,” he offered. “There’s no way that Waddles will be able to climb the ladder and follow you. I can show you if you would like?”

“The roof,” you repeated. “You have no idea how perfect that sounds at the moment. Lead the way but…” Reaching over, you tilted his head up so that he was making eye contact with you. “It would be a bit awkward if you walked into something because you’re always looking at the ground.”

Will’s visible eye went wide in shock and he stared at you blankly. It was the first time you had gotten a proper look at his eye and you were rather taken back. The shade of blue was so vibrant – despite being a little bloodshot and puffy – that it felt like his gaze was piercing straight through you. And the design on his eyepatch…

You both realized that you were staring at the same moment and looked away in unison. The silence that followed was a little awkward to say the least.

You cleared your throat and forced yourself to smile at him. “So how exactly would I get to the roof? This mansion’s a bit of a maze.”

Will gestured for you to follow him and led you quickly though the house. He seemed to know exactly where he was going without any hesitation. Yet he didn’t say a word until the two of you reached a pretty out of place rope ladder that led to a small hatch in the ceiling. You felt kind of bad for making everything feel awkward. “Um… I don’t want to bother you or anything but could you possible come with me?” you asked. “I’d feel safer if there was somebody else up there.”

“There shouldn’t be any danger,” Will mumbled. “It’s nearly impossible to fall off but if it makes you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to go up there. I could find somewhere else that Waddles wouldn’t be able to follow you to.”

You glanced around him at the boar who had settled himself across the hallway. He snorted at you when you looked at him. Daring you to try and double back.

“No, the roof’s perfect,” you reassured him. “I’m just a little uncertain when it comes to heights. I’m not exactly what one might call graceful.”

Will looked uncertain but he glanced up at the ceiling hatch before nodding his head. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll come up with you.”

Flashing him a smile that you hoped he saw, you started your climb up the unstable ladder. What you had expected didn’t quite line up with the reality of what was on the other side of the hatch. A flat piece of the mansion’s roof that was clearly set up for people. There was railing around the edges, a table with chairs and an umbrella as well as a small mini-fridge. It – like the rest of the house – was unnaturally clean. It made you feel quite uneasy but the lack of Waddles made that feeling fade quickly.

“This is an amazing view,” you commented to Will. “I can see the entire town from here. All the way to the water tower.”

Will nodded and you noticed that, once more, his eyes were downcast and away from you. “It’s why the mansion was built here. It provides the perfect surveillance point.”

“I’ll admit that you had a point,” you said. “I doubt that even I could managed to injure myself that badly while I’m up here. It looks safe enough.”

“Dipper had it set up so that Mabel could get hurt,” Will explained. “And she’s pretty masterful so I doubt you could manage it. Would you like me to leave you to read?”

“No way!” you said. Will jumped a little at your volume. “Sorry but you need to tell me more about this whole set up,” you said, gesturing to him and the mansion. “Mabel sure loves being vague… Only if you want to though.”

Will hesitated and for a moment, you thought he was going to deny your request but he said, “I suppose I could. Just until the twins get back.”

“Of course,” you agreed happily.


	3. Chapter 3: A Day Out

Considering the intensity of the argument raging on inside the mansion, you were rather impressed with how calm you were feeling. You were walking faster than you ever had in your life but you were still feeling relatively unthreatened. The gates that stood proud in front of the mansion were thankfully open. Shutting you inside wasn’t something that you’d put past Mabel if she got angry enough and she was pretty furious.

All you had said was that you wanted to go out and see a bit more of the town. It wasn’t that part that was bothering Mabel. She had actually thought it was a pretty good idea, even giving you recommendations on where to go. It was Dipper ordering Will to go with you that had set her off.

He had said that Will was going to make sure that you stayed away from ‘dangerous’ things but you got the feeling that there was more to it than that.

Mabel had immediately protested, saying that she needed Will for something but Dipper hadn’t backed down. He insisted that you leave and Mabel had told you to stay. Turns out you were more fearful of Dipper and you left while they continued to argue.

Will had followed you out but you only realized once you were half way across the large driveway. He clearly agreed that Dipper was who you should be listening to.

Mabel was probably fuming but what was the worst she could do? A shiver ran down your spine at the mere thought, as if you knew subconsciously that you shouldn’t underestimate her. You tried not to entertain that concept for long.

When you were younger, you had seen Mabel do some pretty scary stuff but never before had you thought about it in association with actual danger. Now though…

“Where are we going?” Will’s shaky voice broke you away from those thoughts. You felt pretty grateful for that.

You thought about it before shrugging. “I have no idea. I just wanted to get out and explore Gravity Falls a bit. I’ve hardly seen any of it since I’ve arrived besides what I spotted while driving in that limo and the windows are tinted. Any ideas?”

“There’s a rather high class restaurant if you want something to eat,” Will suggested. “It’s close and you won’t get charged. The woman who runs it knows the Gleefuls well, even if they don’t particularly like her. If you mention your name, she should be more than happy to seat you right away as well. You wouldn’t have to wait.”

You slowed your pace once you had stepped through the large gates, less inspired to walk at anything faster than a stroll. There wasn’t much Mabel could do to you now. “I’m not really in the mood for something like that,” you admitted. “It takes a lot of effort out of me to go to high class restaurants. Is there anything less… classy?” It wasn’t the best word but it would do.

Will looked a tad uncomfortable but he nodded. “There’s a smaller restaurant but I don’t think Mabel and Dipper would be too happy if you went to it. It’s not really… fitting for their family.”

“The horror,” you said sarcastically. “I couldn’t possibly do something as terrible as ruining their reputation by going to a certain restaurant.” You sighed. “Why don’t we go to the Mystery Shack? It’s a tourist trap, right?”

“No!” Will said quickly. He actually startled you by speaking louder than usual. “I mean, it is a tourist trap but you shouldn’t go there. It’s pretty shabby and they’re not very welcoming to anybody or anything related to the Gleefuls.”

“Why not?” you asked, your curiosity sparking once more. It was another thing to add to your ‘Mysteries of Gravity Falls’ list. The list was getting longer and stranger by the minute. Everything was so secretive.

“It’s complicated,” Will replied firmly, making it clear that that was the only answer you were getting from him.

You sighed. “I suppose we could head to the mall,” you said. It wasn’t like you were going to find anything unusual or entertaining there but it sounded as if it were the only option. “I could probably buy some real sugar as apparently Mabel’s allergic to the stuff.”

Will looked conflicted, as if your tone was upsetting him. He wasn’t anything like you expected a demon to be. It was another of the items on your mystery list. You had witnessed small displays of his abilities around the mansion but nothing else that pointed to him being a powerful demon.

A bright splash of color amongst the shrubbery caught your eye, making you stop dead in your tracks. “What the…?” you trailed off, shocking Will who had apparently kept walking until you spoke. He turned his attention to the area you were staring at.

The bushes rustled a little more and a girl stepped out of them. She looked to be the same age as Mabel, with her blonde hair sticking up at odd angles and filled with branches and leaves. It appeared to have been tied up at one point but it no longer was. Her clothing was clearly homemade and her eyes were filled with an innocence that you hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Oh, hello,” she greeted, a warm smile on her face. She straightened her shirt a bit. “I’m Pacifica Southeast. Sorry if I scared you or whatever. I promise I wasn’t spying. I was just looking for my bracelet by retracing my footsteps.”

She said the last part so proudly that you couldn’t help but return her large grin. It was a lovely change of pace being around somebody who didn’t look like they were planning on killing you. “I’m (y/n) (l/n),” you replied. “Maybe I could help you search?” It was more appealing than going to the mall.

“I thought we were going to go to the mall,” Will spoke up and your casual glance at him left you worried and confused. He looked genuinely scared. More so than usual.

“Are you okay?” you asked quietly. “You look a bit upset.”

“I’m fine,” Will said quickly, looking around rapidly. “I just don’t think we should change our plans. The forest is pretty dangerous and I’m not meant to let anything happen to you.”

Pacifica laughed and made a face. “That’s a rumor. The forest isn’t as bad as people make it seem. I’m always running around it and I’ve yet to be eaten or sacrificed.” She paused. “I have been kidnapped by gnomes though. They needed a queen but that was years ago!”

You laughed at what you hoped was a joke. “Sounds like an accomplishment.” There was something about this girl that made you feel happy for some reason.

“It definitely is around here!” Pacifica giggled. “You should hear my cousin go on about it. He’s so paranoid about this kind of stuff. I think what’s going to happen will happen and there’s no point worrying because of it.”

“Sounds like the best way to look at life,” you agreed. “I wish more people thought like that. Anyway, where was the last place you saw the bracelet?”

“I had it on while by the waterfall but the gnomes might have moved it,” she explained. “Some of them really like sparkly things and they live right next to the falls. Although, admittedly it could have been the merfolk.”

“Merfolk?” you asked blankly.

Pacifica launched into a story about how she had met a merman in the pool while she was younger and he had been her first kiss. At first, you were skeptical but as she explained more and more, it sounded almost believable. His name was Gabe… apparently.

Will glanced around nervously. The two of you weren’t far enough from the mansion that you couldn’t be seen and if either of the Gleefuls glanced out of the window…


	4. Chapter 4: Let Me Help

The first thing that had brought your attention to the situation at hand was funnily enough, the smell. A horrid metallic and salty smell that it took you a few seconds to recognize and longer to locate the exact source.

Will had decided on a whim to make you some hot chocolate – not that you were complaining due to having been thinking about only an hour ago – but despite the initially overwhelming scent of chocolate, the smell of blood had quickly captured your attention. For a while, you had questioned whether or not you were imagining it. Until you noticed hints of red staining Will’s sleeve.

“Are you alright?” you asked instinctively, immediately placing the book you had been reading besides your hot chocolate. Admittedly, the drink was looking a lot appetizing with the sudden and unwelcome appearance of blood.

Almost immediately, the dream demon took a step away from your outstretched hand; a movement that caused you to retract it quickly. Will stared at you with wide eyes. “What do you mean?” he asked, voice shaking in a mixture of fear and apprehension.

He had seemed a little jumpy when he initially walked in but you hadn’t thought much of it until that moment. A mild wave of guilt at scaring him crashed into you.

“You’ve got blood on your shirt,” you explained, trying to make your voice sound as soothing as possible. You gestured towards his lower arm.

Instantly, Will moved his hand to hide the exact area of the injury. The movement told you the injury had definitely not gone unnoticed. “Oh,” Will responded, trying to appear surprised. He shuffled slightly towards the door. “I didn’t notice it. I should go and clean everything up.”

“What happened?” you asked. “And don’t even think of pretending you don’t know.”

Will glanced nervously from side to side. “I was moving some props around in the tent, to bring it back to the house and my arm got caught on it. I didn’t realize it was bleeding.”

Your eyes narrowed. The explanation sounded extremely rushed and it was making you suspicious but there were also hints of anger showing. You had seen Will’s healing powers in action (Mabel accidently cut herself) so you didn’t entirely understand why he couldn’t have just used those. Plus, he was a demon and surely it would take something stronger than a stage prop to injure him.

At least, one would think.

“Can I help?” you asked, deciding to brush off the suspicion for the moment. “If you’re not going to use healing powers or anything cool like that, a scratch from a stage prop could lead to infection. I have a small first aid kit that I always keep with me that I could use.”

Will looked like he was about to protest against the idea but then his response changed considerably. “Why do you have it with you all the time?” he asked, curiosity managing to outweigh his fear for a short amount of time.

You hopped off the bed and walked over to the temporary cupboard. You had found it in yourself to unpack after several days but now you had no idea where anything is. Thankfully, you managed to find the box relatively quickly. “Let’s just say I tend to get injured quite often,” you explained.

Will winced and gave you an uneasy look. You sat down at the foot of your bed and gestured for him to join you, something he eventually did but not without hesitation. He hung his head down, allowing his hair to fall forward and hide his eyes from view.

“Let me see it,” you requested, rifling around in the kit. It wasn’t ideal for any big injuries but it could deal with most minor ones. You weren’t sure exactly what you needed but you could estimate.

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Will roll up his sleeve slowly. When you eventually glanced at the injury, your voice faded in shock. “W-W-Wha?” you cleared your throat in an attempt to get rid of the caught word. “I thought you said that it was just a scratch.”

The cut ran diagonally across his upper arm with near perfect precision from one side to the next. It was gaping open, more than what would be usual and the edges were frayed from going without proper dressing. Small amounts of fabric caught in the clotted blood that only made things worse. It revealed the true depth of the cut and the ugly color was staining his skin something terrible.

Your stomach was twisted into a tight knot.

“Compared to some of the injuries I’ve had in the past, it is merely a scratch,” Will told you, his voice so soft you were straining to hear it.

Lightly, you took his arm and moved it slightly closer to you. “I don’t care what it is in comparison to other injuries, this is bad,” you told him. “It needs stiches. I can see your flesh and I’m relatively sure that I can see muscle also.”

Will shook his head quickly, probably giving himself whiplash in the progress. “No!” he quickly protested. “I may not be able to make use of my full healing abilities but my physical body should heal itself far quicker than a human’s. It’s no problem.”

“And if there weren’t any limitations being placed on your powers?” you asked. A small part of you didn’t want to know due to your already bubbling anger.

Will seemed to sense this because he hesitated before telling you. “About half a minute. Perhaps less if I wasn’t in Gravity Falls at all.

You remained silent, eyes narrowed. There was no way you were trusting yourself to speak at the moment and the walls of the mansion had ears everywhere. Instead, you merely stood up and went to slightly dampen the clean towel that was stored in the kit.

When you returned to Will, he was nervously wringing his hands together and staring blankly out of the window. It wasn’t the best view in the house but it was pretty good regardless.

“You shouldn’t do that,” you advised him, gently taking his injured arm in your hand and moving it over to you. “If you overwork the injury, you’re going to make it worse.” You lightly brushed the towel against the wound but moved it away when he cringed. “I’ve got to clean it but let me know if I hurt you.”

He didn’t.

The entire time you worked on the injury, Will remained completely silent. Every once in a while, he would flinch and you would pause for a second before continuing. You cleaned the injury, disinfected it and did your best to make sure the bandage wasn’t too tight or too loose. It was only once you had managed to secure the bandage that you spoke again.

“Do you have an estimate on how long it will take to heal?” you asked. “Considering that you don’t go and bump it on something.”

Will fixed his sleeve as quickly as possible, cringing the entire time. “It depends…” he trailed off. “I suppose that if I spend more times in the areas where the bindings are weakest, it should heal a lot quicker.”

Your grip on the – now slightly bloody – towel tightened but you didn’t allow your reaction to show. There was something more to the bindings that your cousins had set up but you had no idea what it may be. At the moment.

“Try to be careful,” you requested. “If that wound gets opened again, you may end up needing stiches. Healing powers or not.”

Will didn’t respond; simply staring at the floor with a guilty expression on his face.


	5. Chapter 5: Dangerous

When you had first visited your Aunt and Uncle’s house all those years ago and been introduced to Mabel, she had told you that one day, she was going to end up becoming the Queen of the World because then everybody would have to do exactly what she said. It had never been something you put much thought into, despite the reason being slightly creepy. It was kind of… generic.

In the short time span that you had been spending with the Pines Twins, you were beginning to think the idea hadn’t changed throughout her life and that it was a little more serious than just being a small fantasy.

“It was so funny,” Mabel told you with a giggle as she twirled a knife between her fingers. She didn’t seem to notice or care that the blood it was drawing was getting on the table. “They were both so desperate! They did whatever I told them without a single question!”

“Sounds like you have really dedicated fans,” you commented. Your gaze was focused on the breakfast in front of you as you tried to ignore the blood.

Mabel gave a satisfied sigh and smiled. “I do,” she cooed. “They’re far better than Dipper’s fans and there are more of them. You’re more my fan than Dipper’s though, right?” she asked in a tone that dared you to test her.

There was only one right answer you could give. “Of course,” you reassured her. “You’re far better at your illusions than he is and you’re prettier.”

Mabel grinned smugly at you. “None of it’s an illusion,” she told you in a sing-song voice.

“Oh right, you have Will,” you said, the dream demon’s abilities were clearly put to use in the shows so you didn’t think she would be upset by the statement. You were wrong.

“No!” Mabel snapped fiercely. “That’s exactly Dipper’s problem! He relies so much on that ridiculously weak creature that he completely negates his amulet. He keeps claiming that if he pushes Will enough, he’ll reveal his true powers.” Mabel scoffed. “If you ask me, he’s already using all his powers. We just ended up grabbing the worse demon in existence.”

The mention of something you were unfamiliar with made you look up. Swallowing your mouthful, you asked, “Amulet?”

Mabel grinned at you in a way that sent shivers down you spine. She tapped the gem on her headband with the tip of the knife, causing it to glow slightly. “We found the pair of these directly after Dipper grabbed that journal when we first arrived here. If it wasn’t for that, this town would still be completely unworthy of anybody’s time. They’re what allowed us to get a hold on that excuse for a cosmic being.”

If you stared at the blue gem, you began to notice that it appeared to swirl with some kind of energy. “Besides demon trapping and helping with magic shows, what else can they do?” you asked.

“All kinds of things,” Mabel explained in that creepy sing-song voice that she used whenever she wanted to creep you out.

“And the one that Dipper has around his neck?” you asked quickly, trying to change the topic and pry a little more information from her without seeming obvious about it. “Is it the same as yours?”

“They’re two halves that were once a whole,” Mabel said, leaning back in her chair so that it was precariously balancing on two legs. “They need to be in the same area as each other to be able to use their true potential.”

You pulled your gaze away from the amulet to finally meet her eyes. “That must be frustrating. Having to be close to Dipper at all times for it to work.”

“It has quite a wide range, so it’s not that bad,” she said. Her grin started to grow suspiciously. “Would you like to see what it can do even with Dipper being on the other side of the house?”

You were immediately torn between your intuition that was warning you about possible danger and your curiosity which ordered you to accept the double-edged offer. “Will it damage anything?”

“Nothing inanimate,” Mabel promised, that sinister look starting to appear in her expression. “All people react differently to the thing’s powers. I have no idea what’s going to happen to you but isn’t that part of the fun?!”

Your appetite disappeared rapidly after that moment. “Maybe not –“

Before you could finish, the gem began to glow brighter than before, eerily shining in the kitchen’s lighting. The air felt like it had become heavier and the hairs on the back of your neck were standing up. The more cautious side of you want telling you to bolt and run away from whatever danger was in front of you.

You chose to ignore that.

The items in the kitchen began to rattle like crazy, the air around them – and Mabel – shimmered. You were still in mild shock when the air around her began to form into the shapes of several items.

And then it all stopped.

At first Mabel looked around with her eyes narrowed in confusion. She reached up and flicked the gem a few times before her expression turned into a scowl. She fixed you with a harsh glare and a silent implication that you were at fault.

“I’m guessing that’s not what’s meant to happen?” you questioned. Part of you wanted to defend yourself over the unspoken accusation but you didn’t want to rile her up any more than she already was and risk getting on her bad side.

Thankfully, she seemed less interested in you after you spoke and her expression returned to a more neutral one. She shoved herself away from the table, flicked her hair over her shoulder and stalked out of the kitchen with a murderous glint in her eyes.

You pushed your cereal away from yourself once she had left, any hunger vanishing from the strange feeling that still hung in the air.

“It’s probably in your best interests to avoid Mabel for a while,” Will’s voice came from behind you. Being already on edge, it wasn’t surprising that you nearly fell out of your seat. “She won’t be happy when the amulet finally starts working again so it would probably be better if you weren’t in the house until she was done blowing off steam.”

“Why didn’t it work like it was supposed to?” you asked, standing up so that you could properly face the blue-clad demon.

Will hung his head low, looking guiltier than ever. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “The amulets don’t have completely unlimited power. I think it probably just needs a recharge but I don’t know how long that would take.”

“Good point,” you admitted, trying your utmost not to mention your suspicions. “We should probably get out of here then.”

“I can’t leave at the moment,” Will said quickly. “Sorry,” he added on as an afterthought.

You made a show out of dramatically sighing. “Really? Now I’m going to have to wander around Gravity Falls all by myself with nobody to talk to. Unless I bump into Pacifica that is.”

Will finally looked up, meeting your eyes and once again shocking you with their vibrant coloring. “That’s a good idea,” he told you. “Mabel would never think that you would be at the Mystery Shack. You should go there immediately.”

You didn’t have time to question him before he turned and hurriedly followed after Mabel.


	6. Chapter 6: Say What?

Walking into the Mystery Shack gave you a rather strange realization of how… unique the place truly was. You could tell the building was old, even if it did appear to have gone through the occasional maintenance throughout its life. There was a strange smell in certain areas and the strangest odds and ends cluttered the shelves.

The first thing Pacifica had done was give you a hug and show you the spots that you should avoid. The first thing Gideon had done was glare at you suspiciously over the top of a red book before disappearing upstairs.

“I don’t think he likes me all too much,” you noted.

Pacifica practically launched herself onto the large sofa and started digging around through the cushions for something. “Just ignore him,” she advised. “He’s always been too paranoid for his own good. Especially when it comes to the Gleefuls. Uh… No offence or anything.”

“None taken,” you reassured her. “It’s nice to know that not every person in this town in utterly besotted with my cousins. Honestly, it’s starting to get annoying how loyal everybody is to them.”

Pacifica yanked the TV remote out of the couch triumphantly and gave you a sympathetic nod. “I’m sure it would get annoying to hear that from every person who’s under that demon’s spell. I get annoyed just talking to my friends about it so I tend to avoid the topic.”

At her words, your mind sort of froze for a second. “I’m sorry?” you questioned.

“Well, I mean, it’s easier than trying to convince them that they’re being brainwashed,” Pacifica explained. “They’re completely fine in all other respects.”

“No, what were you saying about a demon?” you asked.

Pacifica’s expression turned nervous and she tapped the remote nervously. “You don’t know?” she asked. “Dipper and Mabel Gleeful have complete control over a dream demon called Will Cipher. He’s loyal to them. It’s driving Gideon mental trying to figure out why because lifelong servitude doesn’t seem like something a demon would make a deal for. I’m sure that you were with him in his human form when I first met you. Normally he’s a triangle but he can make a disguise so you would think that he’s a normal person.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. The images of Will that you had in your mind were certainly not ones of a triangle. “How does that relate to the worship everybody gives Dipper and Mabel?”

Eyes flashing with a mixture of nerves and excitement, Pacifica leaned closer to you. “I’m only telling you this because I know you’re not under the spell and I hope you’re trustworthy but Gideon and I saw Will put a spell on the entire town. Dipper ordered him to make sure that no matter what the Gleefuls do, they’ll be loved in Gravity Falls. They practically rule the town now.”

“Why weren’t you affected?” you asked, keeping your voice hushed even though you weren’t sure why.

“Gideon had set up these barriers around us and the shack to make sure no demon will be able to perform mind games with us.” She grinned proudly at you. “I helped by gathering the ingredients that he couldn’t get.”

“The entire shack is protected?” you asked, looking around at the walls. It didn’t appear secure at the moment.

Pacifica nodded and suddenly raised her voice to normal volume, startling you. “Yep!” she said. “Gideon did have help with that one because it was a bit trickier. They also Mabel-proofed the shack while they were at it.”

“Mabel-proof?” you questioned. “Seems a bit strange. Why not make it completely Gleeful-proof?”

Pacifica shrugged, her expression falling a little. “Dipper Gleeful would never come here, it’s below him.” Was it just you or did she sound slightly disappointed about that. “Mabel has a crush on Gideon though so she used to try get in here all the time. It’s almost freakily obsessive and as a qualified matchmaker, I can tell you that they will never be good together!”

“Qualified matchmaker?” you asked with a small smirk. You really needed to move away from the topic of your cousins. “How good are you at this?”

“Perfect,” Pacifica said with a grin. “I can find anybody a date.”

“Even me?” you asked.

Pacifica’s eyes sparkled like you had just given her the best present in the world. “Are you asking me to match you up with the perfect date?” she squealed. “Seriously?”

“Uh… sure,” you agreed nervously, a little concerned about the reaction she had just had.

The TV flicked off and Pacifica turned to you with a serious expression. “Before I properly start, I need you to understand that while I may seem a little out of the box with my methods, I’m very good at this. You have to promise you won’t question me if I tell you something.”

“I’ll try my hardest,” you promised, trying not to laugh at how strange the blonde looked with a serious expression.

“Good,” Pacifica said, her smile returning. “Because if I’m going to tell you who I think you’ll be a great match for, you can’t question me.”

“That I’m not promising,” you warned her. “And I’m starting to get suspicious here.”

Pacifica gave you a mysterious grin before digging around under the couch and pulling up a thick, glitter-covered, book. “This is a visual record of every person in Gravity Falls who would be eligible for dating,” she told you. “They’re arranged by age, name, and all kinds of other factors. I have pictures also. If they’re crushing on or dating somebody, they get a red dot until they are no longer interested at which point, I take the dot off.”

“That is… extremely stalker-like,” you commented as she flipped through the pages. “You have one for Gideon?”

“I do,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “Unfortunately, I’ll never be putting a red sticker there if he keeps avoiding people. I have one for Dipper and Mabel as well. I don’t ever want to give them a red dot, I’d feel sorry for the other person. I have a page also and I might make one for you.”

You were going to ask if she had a red dot on her page when she stopped turning and shoved the book towards you. “Here we go.”

“Uh… Pacifica, that’s Will,” you pointed out.

She laughed and nodded. “I know. I bet you weren’t expecting me to choose somebody you already have a crush on.”

“Hold up a second,” you said, turning your gaze away from the picture of Will and onto her. “I do not have a crush on Will Cipher. Maybe I find him attractive… slightly… but you just told me he’s controlling the entire town! It kind of puts a damper on my ‘attraction’.”

Pacifica pouted, as though the thought had just occurred to her. “But the two of you looked so cute the other day. I’ve been shipping it ever since.”

You shook your head, refusing to let yourself follow that line of thought. “For some reason, I don’t think it’s going to happen. You know, he is kind of a demon that’s under the complete control of the cousin who does not like me.”

“That could be a small problem,” Pacifica admitted.


	7. Chapter 7: Unexpected But Not Unwelcome

You had been hoping that the walk back to the mansion would be enough time to wrap your head around what you had been told. You had figured that by the time you arrived back, there would be a clear solution in your mind about what to do. Unfortunately, it seemed the walk back had grown shorter and before you knew it, you were standing in front of the huge doors.

You hesitated. Did you honestly want to go back inside? The idea was growing less appealing by the minute. Why would you want to go into the home of people who enslaved the entire town? Pacifica had offered to let you stay at the Mystery Shack so it wasn’t as though you wouldn’t have a place to stay.

But you needed to find out what was going on from Will.

Taking a deep breath, you pushed the doors open. You walked into the mansion and the unsettling silence that always filled it. You supposed it was to be expected with only four people in such a huge house but you didn’t like it either way.

As you stepped into the hall, you came to the realization that the only three places in the mansion you spent time in were the kitchen, living room, and the guest bedroom. You had no idea where to find Will.

Without letting it bother you too much, you started walking in the opposite direction of your bedroom, taking note of how many doors were closed. You tried a few handles but they were all locked.

The more you walked, the worse the idea started to sound. Pacifica had warned you that it probably wasn’t something you were meant to know about. Before your mind was finished telling you to run, you walked into Dipper.

“What are you doing here?” Dipper asked in that cool monotone of his. He always spoke like that but it sounded more intimidating than usual at the moment.

“Uh… you invited me to stay – “

“Don’t try and act like an idiot!” Dipper snapped. “Obviously I know why you came to visit. Why would I possibly be asking you about that.”

Forcing a carefree grin onto your face, you answered as well as you could without your voice breaking. “I wanted to explore the rest of the house,” you explained. “See if there’s anything cool around here like Mabel’s amulet.”

Dipper’s eyes narrowed. “Mabel told you about her amulet?” he asked.

You nodded slowly. “Uh… yeah. She did. She showed me some of what it could do also but apparently it needs to be charged.” Your eyes fell on the one around his neck. “You have one also.”

Dipper glared at you. “Whatever you’re looking for, I wouldn’t go that way,” he said, indicating the direction you were heading. “Mabel’s in a bit of a bad mood and she might end up setting Waddles on you. While it may be entertaining or me, I doubt you’d enjoy it.”

At the mention of Mabel’s demonic pig, a shiver ran down your spine. “You know what, I’ve lost the urge to explore rather suddenly.”

“Understandable,” Dipper said smugly. “Why don’t you go read or something? You like to do that, right?” He took a step closer to you. “A word of advice, don’t go messing around with strange things. You’ll only end up getting hurt.”

Before you had the chance to answer, he brushed past you and continued down the hall. He unlocked one of the closed doors, went through it and shut it very firmly behind him. The click of the lock sounded through the hall.

You looked towards where Dipper had said Mabel was, gulped, and went as quickly as you could in the opposite direction. It may come across as cowardly but when faced with Waddles, you were fine with being accused of that.

You headed through one of the backdoors and continued on past the pool. The forest was the best place to take a walk and calm down. Pacifica had given you enough tips that you felt perfectly safe being there alone. She had shown you how to both detect and escape most dangers in there.

A small path that looked like it hadn’t been walked on for ages ran nearly parallel to the property border and you stuck to it. It wouldn’t be good for anybody to get lost in there.

While you walked, your mind wandered and you didn’t realize how far you were going until you passed a certain point.

The moment you did, a shiver ran up your spine. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up and the world around you became… clearer. It felt like something had been lifted from your shoulders but at the same time, you could sense something watching you.

“And who might you be?” the voice didn’t come from a specific location. It sounded disembodied, like it was bouncing around in your head.

You spun around rapidly, looking for the source.

“You’re not going to find me like that,” the voice reassured you. “I don’t have a physical form you see. A least, I don’t have one in your reality. I don’t even have a two-dimensional form here. I guess it’s what happens when you’re not from this dimension or any of the ones surrounding it.”

“If you’re you not from our dimension, why are you here?” you asked, focusing your attention on a tree. It was easier than glancing around wildly, even if you did feel crazy. “Why are you talking to me?”

The voice laughed and gave a dramatic sigh immediately after. Talk about a mood swing. “Unfortunately, my options are rather limited here. I can’t really get through the barrier around this town. Normally I’m stuck inside it. It’s strange being on the other side.”

“The barrier I just passed through,” you summarized, looking over your shoulder. There was nothing there that you could see.

“Bingo!” the voice said loudly. “I’m having a bit of a problem lately. I was banished from my dimension and the world adjacent to it. Pretty horrible, right? I’m quite literally stuck in this limbo-like state until I find a way out and in every other dimension I’ve been to, I’ve had to deal with another version of me. Except in this one.”

“Why not?” you asked. There was something in the back of the mind that was warning you against continuing the conversation but you chose to ignore it.

“Let’s just say that the me in this dimension it otherwise occupied,” it explained. “That’s all very complicated but it means that I’ve been able to hang around until I find a human, like you, to help me out.”

Your eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What do you want me to do? I don’t have to do anything.”

“You don’t but what I want is simple enough,” it said. “Help me regain a physical form so I can get back to my dimension. No strings attached. I have infinite knowledge at my disposal. Do this for me and I’ll tell you anything you want about other demons.”

“ _Other_ demons?” you asked. “Are you saying you’re one?”

“More or less,” it answered. “I’m not much more than a voice at the moment. Come on human, don’t you think this is a good deal?”

“If you were banished from your dimension, why would you want to go back?” you asked.

It sighed. “Because it’s safer. I also have some revenge to deal out there. I have quite a few enemies back home that have been causing me trouble. It a win-win scenario for you to help me.”

You considered it before asking quietly. “What’s your name?”

It chuckled. “I don’t exactly have a name but you can call me Bill. Bill Cipher.”


	8. Chapter 8: Confrontation

It wasn’t like you were an oblivious person. You could easily put two and two together. It didn’t take long for you to come to the conclusion that Bill was the alternate version of Will. The names were admittedly one of your major clues. The two even spoke similarly. While Will was admittedly softer, they used similar mannerisms.

You hadn’t brought it up to either of them just yet. It didn’t seem like it would be beneficial to any of the involved parties. Especially given that Will knew nothing of Bill’s presence in your dimension. According to Bill, it was because Gravity Fall’s natural force field limited the range of his powers.

Bill knew a lot about the town. Apparently it was pretty similar in his dimension with a few minor differences. Such as the Tent of Telepathy being much smaller and not taking up an entire lot. He had also mentioned that the Gleeful Twins didn’t run it but he hadn’t gone into a lot of detail.

Mabel was growing suspicious of your constant trips away from the manner and she had sent people to spy on the Mystery Shack to make sure you weren’t visiting Pacifica. You were starting to think that your cousin was a little less sane than she appeared.

It was nearing evening on a Monday while both twins were out doing a special show that you hadn’t been invited to. You didn’t mind but you had acted dreadfully heartbroken when Mabel had told you. You really needed to stay on her good side. The gem that glowed on her headband remained a constant reminder of what she could do.

You shoved the huge glass door open and stepped out of the mansion. You had your torch in case it got dark quicker than you anticipated and a small knife from the kitchen. Just in case.

“It’s cold outside,” Will commented from behind you. It still caused you to jump when he did that. “Are you sure that you want to go for a walk in the forest at this hour? If you get sick, there isn’t any medicine in the mansion.”

You turned to face him with a casual grin. “Don’t worry about it. I brought my own flu stuff. I probably won’t get sick anyway. It’s not like I’m going swimming although if I walk near those mermen again, I may not have a choice.” It was meant to be a joke but Will didn’t look amused.

“Try to avoid the creatures in the forest,” he asked. It didn’t sound like an order. If anything, it sounded more like a desperate plea. “They’re quite dangerous if you’re by yourself and I would never be forgiven if you get hurt.”

You gave a small nod despite your disbelief that the Gleefuls would truly care if you got injured. Mabel would probably find it more humorous than anything else. “Sure. I’ll keep my guard up.” Although it was pointless. Once you crossed the border, there tended to be very little – if any – wildlife at all. Let alone something that could harm you.

Will still looked unsure but he wasn’t going to try and stop you again. Instead he held out a dark blue scarf to you. “Take this with you. Dipper won’t care but Mabel might if you end up getting ill.”

“Won’t they care more if I take their stuff without asking?” you asked. A scarf sounded like a great idea at the moment but you knew how possessive Mabel was of her things. She didn’t know the meaning of sharing.

“It’s not hers,” Will admitted softly. You almost didn’t hear him. “It’s mine but I don’t often wear it and I thought you might like to.”

You took it from him gingerly. “Seriously? Thanks.” And now you were feeling kind of guilty for not telling him exactly where you were going. You wrapped the scarf around your neck and tried to ignore that feeling. You couldn’t explain to him that you were going to meet another demon who happened to be his dimension double…

The guilt stayed with you though. Even as you waved a temporary goodbye to Will and started walking through the forest. You flicked on your flashlight the moment you hit the tree line for a mild feeling of security. A lot of the creatures that emerged during the evening weren’t fond of light and tended to avoid it. On the way to the spot where you had first met Bill, you didn’t see a single hostile creature. In fact, you didn’t see much wildlife at all.

“Look who’s arrived,” Bill’s sing-song voice rang out in your ears the moment you passed through the barrier. It was a horribly disconnected feeling to have somebody talk to you when you couldn’t see them.

“I got caught up with some things,” you explained. “People are starting to get suspicious about my new hobby of walking alone in the forest. Especially Dipper and I really don’t want to get on his bad side.” You grimaced at the thought. You had yet to see him angry but you had the feeling it was something that should be avoided.

Bill sighed loudly. “Ah yes. I have to say, the Dipper in this dimension is far better than the one that I have in mine. This one at least has some fight to him.” He chuckled. “If you’re worried about all that, just lie. It’s something you humans are quite good at.”

“Not all of us,” you argued. “I’m far from being a good liar. I was even worse when I was little.”

He scoffed. “The only thing humans are good at is being manipulative. How else would I have ended up stranded in this pathetic excuse for a dimension? There’s a reason that your family have managed to keep a hold on a dream demon. Lying.”

How you wished you could argue with him but you couldn’t. Not when you had recently found out that your cousins were using magic to control the entire town. “Whatever,” you grumbled. “I presume you need something.”

“Am I being that obvious?” Bill asked dramatically. “How is it that even when I’m stuck outside the town borders, you can still tell when I need your aid?”

You raised an eyebrow at… well… the air. “So the constant stones and twigs that have been bombarding me the entire day weren’t from you?” you asked. “They were just randomly coming flying out of the forest?”

“Oh, I actually hit you!” Bill exclaimed. “You have to admit, my aim is absolutely brilliant if I managed to do that!”

“Astounding,” you replied sarcastically. One of the small twigs had actually hit Dipper earlier in the day which hadn’t been as amusing as it sounded. He was rather unimpressed with the ‘wind’ afterwards. “What did you need?”

Bill chuckled, a surprisingly soft sound that still managed to make your hair stand on end. “As it turns out, I’m currently in need of a physical form so that I can draw the… thing that will allow me to start rebuilding my own personal one.”

“You want me to draw something?” you asked. “I’m not exactly the best artist around but I can try if you describe it to me.”

Bill scoffed. “There’s no way I could describe it to you. It’s far too complex and your little human mind would take far too long to get it perfect. I need to be the one to draw it but in order to do that, I kind of need to loan your body.”

“You want to what now?” you asked blankly.

“Temporarily possess your meat sack of a body so that I can start recreating my own,” Bill said slowly. “Is this a hard concept for you to understand? It’ll only take an hour or so and then you can have your body back. It won’t be that bad.”

“Wait a second, you want to possess me?” you asked. You hadn’t intended for your voice to be so loud and you quickly returned to a normal tone. “I mean, how does that even work?”

Bill was getting impatient. You could hear it. “It’s simple. You agree to let me use that pathetic thing you call a physical form and then once I’m done, I leave and you get your body back. I’m not going to be going through your thoughts.”

“And this will help you get back to your dimension?” you asked. “I’m not seeing the connection here.”

“I’m going to be carving something into a tree that will allow me to create my own form in this dimension. Once I’ve got that, I should be able to start regaining the power I need,” Bill said. “It’s not going to do any damage to your weak little mortal body.”

“Do you promise that I’m not going to be injured?” you asked wearily. “I don’t like the idea of not being in control of my body but I’ve made the choice to trust you.”

Bill laughed again. “What a lovely thing to hear. You trust me.” He repeated the words twice more before saying with a maniacal laugh. “Alright. I promise that I won’t let any harm come to your body while I’m in control of it. Having said that, do we have a deal?”

You hesitated. Who wouldn’t? You didn’t know that much about dream demons and the consequences of deals with them (You were sure there had to be some kind of consequences) but Bill had promised that he would tell you about it if you helped him return to his dimension and he did seem to know a lot about it. It was only for an hour, right? How much damage could be done in that short amount of time?

“Tick tock,” Bill sung. “I don’t have all day and I don’t think you do either. Weren’t you just complaining about how people were getting suspicious? The sooner you decide, the less likely you are to return late.” How he always brought up such good points was beyond you.

“Fine!” you snapped. “But only for an hour!”

“That’s all I need,” Bill replied slowly. Without warning, the world started blurring and something deep inside of you felt like it was being tugged at. It didn’t want to move until finally, whatever was pulling on it won. You were spiraling through the air and your stomach was in your throat. When everything finally cleared, you were looking at a person.

The person grinned at you and you froze. The face you saw every time you looked in a mirror with a devilish smile plastered on it and eyes…

Slit-pupiled eyes that glowed yellow.


	9. Chapter 9: Of Course There's A Catch

The gem was one of the strangest things you had ever seen. Glowing yellow and in the form of a perfect triangle. Bill had summoned it out of thin air after he was done drawing a strange zodiac on the ground. He claimed that it was both a thank you present and a way that you could contact him if you needed to. You weren’t quite sure how that worked and he hadn’t been in an explaining mood.

Running your fingers over the face, you pondered what you should do with it. A small part of your mind wanted you to use it as some form of jewelry but which jeweler could you take it to without the twins learning about it. Definitely not the one in Gravity Falls.

Sighing, you tapped your nail against it, mind going back to the strange sensation you had felt when you returned to your body after Bill was done. A small tingling that you felt if you held the gem for too long.

Three soft knocks brought you out of the thoughts you were in. “Yes Will?” you asked. Out of the three people in the house, he was the only one that ever actually knocked. Mabel tended to just let herself in and Dipper… he mainly avoided your room.

The door opened as you slid the gem into your pocket. Will looked shaken as he stepped into your room. “I thought you might like to know that Waddles isn’t going to be around the mansion for the rest of the afternoon,” he told you. “Perhaps you would like to take of advantage of that.”

“That’s great!” you exclaimed. “I think I’m going to finally be able to swim. Finally, I can take advantage of that huge pool!”

Will nodded and offered you a small smile. “It occurred to me when Mabel said they were going to the park. Dipper is still here but I don’t think he’ll come out of his room so you shouldn’t have any problems.”

Speaking of Dipper… You were beginning to grow more suspicious of him by the day and you were starting to wonder how to get answers. “Will?” you asked. “I wanted to ask you about something that I heard the other day. Pacifica said that Dipper has a spell on the town. Is that true or is it just a rumor that I shouldn’t listen to?”

Will’s entire body tensed and from that alone, you had your answer. He glanced around nervously before stepping into the room a little more and closing the door. He hesitated before saying, “You shouldn’t talk about Pacifica or anything like that when the Gleefuls are around.”

“So it’s true then?” you concluded. “She said that Dipper ordered you to place the spell and that it couldn’t touch the Mystery Shack or go past the town borders.”

On instinct, Will flinched when you mentioned the borders. “The force field around Gravity Falls is the main reason why my powers can’t stretch across the entire dimension,” he explained. “It’s a problem that Dipper’s looking into fixing but you can’t let them know you’ve heard about this stuff. There’s no telling what Mabel would do to you. She’s got a sadistic streak that can come out at any moment.”

“Funnily enough, I realized that,” you told him. “I’ve seen those cuts that Dipper has sometimes and I assume they’re from her. I don’t want to make trouble, I just want to know what all this stuff means. The amulets, the zodiac, the –“

“The zodiac?” Will asked. It was the first time you had ever seen him interrupt somebody and he flinched. “I’m sorry but how do you know about the zodiac? Dipper keeps the room tightly locked at all times.”

You froze. “There’s a zodiac in this house?” you asked. “Like the one with the triangle in the middle and all the little symbols around it?” At the mention of the zodiac, it felt like the gem in your pocket actually got hotter. The tingling sensation slowly becoming burning.

Will looked confused. “The one in the mansion is the only one in the town,” he said, his voice dropping to little more than a whisper. “Is there another one?”

“No,” you said before you even thought about it. You paused. It hadn’t been you that said that, had it? “I saw it while I was reading one of Dipper’s books.” Your voice was speaking without your permission and you couldn’t control it. “It was discussing a demon and I thought it may have something to do with you.”

He didn’t seem convinced. You desperately wanted to call yourself out on your own lie but your brain wasn’t obeying you and the sensation that had once been only around the gem had spread throughout your body.

“It does relate to me,” Will said finally. “Well, to dream demons in general. It can be used to summon, banish, trap, and even kill if it’s used correctly but it needs to be activated in different ways.”

A low whistle sounded in your head and instantly everything made sense. _“He really will tell you anything,”_ Bill said. He sounded shocked. _“I wonder if you asked him how to kill the Gleefuls if he would answer you?”_ There was a moment of silence before, _“Well, what are you waiting for? Are you mute or something?”_

You coughed, somewhat pleased to note that you had your voice back. For now. “So how many dream demons are there?”

“One for each dimension,” Will said. He sounded unsure of what he was saying.

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “And if one of them traveled across dimensions? Is that possible?”

“I don’t think so,” Will mumbled. “But I’ve never really tried it. The other dimensions are quite intimidating and I would hate to cause any accidental trouble for any others.”

A groan rang out inside your skull. _“Is this guy seriously meant to be me? Yeah, I know you kinda figured it out. You are a smart one,”_ Bill complemented. _“Answer me truthfully here, does he really seem like a demon? In the slightest? What kind of a demon avoids chaos?”_

A horrible thought struck you at that moment. Was this a permanent side effect of the whole possession thing? “Can you possess people?” you asked Will. “I was reading something about that also.”

“I know that I can but I’ve never done it before,” Will said. He seemed almost… upset about it or maybe even ashamed. “How do you know so much about demons lately?” he asked softly. “Has Pacifica really told you all of this?”

“From what I’m hearing, I don’t think I even know the basics when it comes to dream demons,” you said truthfully. “And don’t worry, it wasn’t Pacifica or Gideon who told me about this stuff. I just stumbled across it.” Technically, it wasn’t a lie.

A sharp tugging feeling deep inside your mind made you start. You thought that Bill couldn’t possess somebody without a hand shake or whatever first. _“I can’t,”_ Bill sang with a laugh. _“But I would advise you get your boyfriend to leave before he starts noticing things are a little… strange.”_

“Alright,” you said. Will startled at your sudden exclamation. “I am wasting precious Waddles-free time. I should get changed and head down to the pool.”

Will nodded and his entire body seemed to relax once you changed the topic. He game you a timid smile before he left the room. You waited a minute before groaning and slumping on your bed.

“You never told me that this was going to be a side effect,” you complained to the air. You still felt exceptionally strange when you spoke to nothing but it couldn’t be helped when Bill was literally inside your head. “And what exactly did you mean by strange?”

Bill laughed manically. The sound alone was enough to give you a headache. _“Luckily for you, your new tattoo is pretty well hidden but you might want to invest in some sunglasses.”_

Your hand immediately flew to the pocket of your jeans; suspicions confirmed when you realized the stone was gone. For a second, anger coursed through you at the thought of a tattoo branded against your leg but the feeling of dread quickly replaced it. Standing up, you walked over to the dresser and dared to glance into the mirror.

At first, it felt like nothing was wrong but the more you stared, the more you noticed the changes. Your right eye’s pupil was thinner than usual and the color around it was starting to fade. If you looked hard enough, you could see hints of yellow starting to appear.

Bill hissed. _“Yeah. Not much I could do about that one. Don’t suppose you could fake an eye injury and have to wear an eyepatch or something? Better yet, don’t fake it!”_

“You never told me this would happen!” you snapped. “Is this permanent?!”

 _“Well…”_ Bill trailed off before continuing to laugh. _“If it’s any consolation, yellow looks great on you and technically you didn’t question if that gem could do anything.”_

“You didn’t tell me that it would allow you to get into my head from beyond the border!” You had to make sure to keep your voice down but it was getting increasingly difficult. “Saying it will allow you to contact me doesn’t imply this!”

As you were watching your reflection, your pupil became even thinner. Anger raced through your veins.

 _“You may want to consider glasses,”_ Bill recommended.

“Or asking another demon how to fix it!” you growled. Without waiting for his reply, you stormed out of the room. And straight into Dipper.

Your cousin’s expression actually showed emotion and for once, you wished that it didn’t. “Another demon?” he questioned, the smirk on his face unsettling.


	10. Chapter 10: Betrayal

Throughout your life, you had felt the sting of betrayal many times. The first time your mother had set you up on a playdate with a person you didn’t like when you were in kindergarten. All the times when your best friend found something that appeared to be the smidgen bit more important than you. One of the worst had to be the first time you had told somebody a secret and they shared it with everyone. None of those compared to the betrayal you felt at the moment.

Not at Dipper. You had never trusted him to begin with and you expected him to do something like this. No, it was Will who was the root of your feelings. Will who was standing against one of the far walls, looking far more guilty and upset than you had ever seen him.

“I told him to answer any question you had,” Dipper had said simply. “I didn’t know you would ask so many… secretive questions. Things like the zodiac… I don’t even want to hear how you found out about that.” You had never seen him so talkative since you first met him.

You had offered very little resistance when Dipper had ordered Will to bring you into one of the rooms on the opposite side of the house. Something had told you that it was a bad idea to protest but now that you were standing in the middle of some strange zodiac with mystical chains on your arms, you were starting to regret it.

“People will notice if I vanish,” you warned Dipper. For some reason, the silence in the room was deafening. “It’ll raise suspicions because they know that I was meant to come here.”

Dipper chuckled. He was paging through an old book of some kind. “No, I don’t think it will,” he replied smoothly. “If I say the word, everybody will believe that you disappeared while vacationing somewhere far away from Gravity Falls. I might even find it in myself to have a body planted.”

You looked at Will but the demon refused to look at you. Everybody would think it if Will put some kind of spell on them. Unless… “You won’t be able to get past the barrier!” you accused proudly.

Dipper looked up from the pages, eyes narrowed and you realized that you had made a mistake. “You know about the barrier?” he asked. “Looks like your source is more informative than I originally thought. No matter. There are other ways of ensuring that nobody notices or cares should you… disappear.”

He had you there. The only people that you could think of that would possible know the truth were sitting in the Mystery Shack. Unable to help. “What are you going to do?” you asked.

“Send Will into your mind to see where the source of this information is coming from,” Dipper said simply. “There’s a way I can do it that doesn’t require a handshake or anything stupid like that. I’m rather curious to find out what this other demon has to do with it all.”

His response certainly got Will’s attention and the dream demon’s head snapped up with a look of terror. “But I’ve never done something like that before!” he attempted to protest. “I –“

“Shut up!” Dipper snapped, effectively silencing the demon. “I couldn’t care what damage you do! To yourself or her! I just want that information!”

 _“Yikes!”_ Bill whispered, as if somebody could hear him inside your mind. _“I have to admit, I prefer this version of Dipper far more than my own. He’s pretty brilliant but unfortunately, I’m going to have to interrupt this plan.”_

The tingling sensation rushed over you and then your body was no longer your own.

The chains on your wrists exploded with a burst of yellow. With a flick of your hand, you sent Dipper flying backwards until he slammed hard into the wall. Will appeared to be in shock as he didn’t do anything until you – no, Bill – started laughing. “Geez, sorry about that Pine Tree!” he cackled. “Forgot how to use a physical form all that well! Wait! Can I even call you that in this dimension?”

“(y/n)?” Will asked nervously and the shake in his voice made you cringe internally.

Bill spun on him with another laugh. “Well Blue? Aren’t you even going to try and fight me?! I know I’m pathetic in this universe but how much of a wimp can you really be? Come on! Throw some attack at me!”

Will just started at him in shock and you wanted desperately to try and explain but Bill suddenly spun back on Dipper, stopping an attack midair. “Wow!” he shouted. “I’m seriously impressed! I’m actually considering moving to this dimension permanently if this is how you are here! You actually put up a fight!” This time when Dipper slammed into the wall, he didn’t get up.

Bill howled with laughter and turned back to Will. “Come on! Last shot! 5! 4! 3! 2! –“

A weak blast of blue energy flew at you, forcing Bill to dodge around it. “Seriously?!” he exclaimed. “That was just sad! You know what, I think I’m going to take over this dimension instead of my old one! Seems like it will be a lot more fun!”

 _“W-What?”_ you thought. It didn’t come out of your mouth but Bill laughed anyway, clearly having heard it.

“Sorry about this buttercup!” he chuckled. “I promise that this wasn’t my intention from the beginning but you’ve inspired me! Besides, this dimension will be far better with me in charge!”

 _“But I helped you!”_ you attempted to argue. It was strange to be thinking the words and not hearing them but you weren’t going to let that deter you. _“You promised –“_

“That nothing bad was going to happen to your dimension,” Bill interrupted. “I’m not doing anything bad. I’m making everything around here better!” He paused. “You did help me though and what the hell, I’m in a generous mood. I was going to kill you but instead, I’ll send you to my dimension! How does that sound?”

“(y/n)’s is still in there?” Will asked, preventing you from responding. It was different to your previous experiences with possession. You hadn’t left your body and through your eyes, you could see Will’s confusion and mild betrayal.

Bill scoffed. “Obviously! I’m using a proxy to get into her mind. It’s not proper possession. Not that you would know anything about that!” Bill snapped his fingers. “You know what, you can keep the tattoo also!”

 _“I don’t want a triangle tattoo on my leg!”_ you countered. It was hard but you had to keep your attention solely focused on getting your body back.

Bill snorted with laughter. He pulled a face immediately after. “What a strange noise,” he commented. “But I forgot that you haven’t seen the thing yet. Don’t worry, it’s not a triangle but it yellow. I can’t see why you would be upset with that!”

 _“Let me have my body back!”_ you snapped at him.

Bill gave an overly dramatic sigh. “Right now? But I’m having so much fun! I suppose my physical form should be ready by now! Are you sure?”

You were silent for a few seconds, wondering if he really asked that before saying, _“Of course I’m sure! Get out of my head!”_

“And after I was so nice letting you live,” Bill said sadly. He perked up immediately afterwards. “Anyway! Say goodbye to your boyfriend because something tells me you won’t be seeing him any time soon! Enjoy my dimension!”

_“Wai-“_

You never got to finish as the world disappeared from around you. You had control over your body again but while you were floating in darkness, it didn’t do much. Strong forces tugged on you from every angle, creating the feeling of being yanked around by human magnets. The ‘tattoo’ on your leg started burning crazily but for some reason, when you reached down to touch it, your hand went through nothing but air.

Just as you began to panic, the world became a little clearer and you impacted with something hard. The smell filling your nose was quick to notify you that it was dirt.

You pushed yourself up, rubbing your head which had been jarred quite a bit. Your front was filthy and the mark on your leg was hurting more than ever. Your eyes were shut and when you eventually opened them, you nearly had a heart attack.

“Hi!” the girl greeted happily. She had been mere inches from your face before you jumped away and she looked an awful lot like – “I’m Mabel,” she said with a smile. “Did you just teleport?”

“Uh… no…” you said slowly. Her face was identical to your cousin’s. Her hair was far goofier though and her clothing looked like she had just stolen it from Pacifica. She was smiling but not in the way that Mabel normally did. Instead, she looked genuinely happy. “Would you believe me if you said I’m not from this dimension?” you asked.

“Of course!” she answered. “We have that kind of weird stuff happen around here all the time! Why did you come across to our dimension?”

“It wasn’t a choice, I can assure you of that,” you grumbled. “I was tricked by this stupid demon –“

“Bill?!” Mabel asked in shock.

You stared at her blankly. “Exactly,” you said slowly. “How do you know about him?”

“He’s been bothering me and my brother since we were 12!” Mabel said loudly. “Come on! We’ve got to tell Dipper about this! He’ll know what to do about it and he could probably send you back to your dimension also!”

Your blood ran cold at the mention of his name.


	11. Chapter 11: Not Dipper...?

Confusion was pretty much the main emotion you were feeling at that moment. It only served to heighten when Mabel took a sharp right turn and led you away from the direction you knew the huge manor was in and towards the old tourist trap known as the Mystery Shack.

She had asked you if something was wrong twice now. Mainly because you had taken to quickly averting your eyes whenever she so much as glanced in your direction. It was a seemingly stupid reaction. She had done nothing to show that she was anything like your cousin but she just looked so much like her. Albeit, a little less groomed.

The Mystery Shack looked different to how you knew it but you didn’t have time to admire it before Mabel was kicking the door open and walking in with a loud shout of, “You’ll never believe what I found!”

You jumped slightly when a voice that sounded awfully similar to Dipper’s responded with, “You had better not have brought some random forest creature back here!”

“I didn’t!” Mabel countered loudly. She gestured for you to follow her and headed for the living room. “I found this girl who looks just like our cousin (y/n) and she says that Bill sent her here from another dimension!”

So you did exist in this dimension. It was a strange thought to entertain. Not that you got much time to do so as Dipper appeared soon afterwards.

“What about Bill?” he asked and your blood ran cold. It wasn’t that he looked like the Dipper you know, if anything they could be complete opposites. Especially when it came down to hair. It was just the way that he spoke… less cold and maniacal, true but it didn’t help much.

Mabel gestured to you. “She just popped out of nowhere in front of me! She says that Bill sent her here from another dimension.”

Dipper looked at you curiously, almost as if he could tell what you were thinking just by staring at him. “Bill sent you here?” he asked. “Why?”

“Um…” you gulped a little and took a deep breath. “He… uh… he tricked me by saying that he needed help in escaping my dimension and then he… changed his mind and decided to take over instead. He then sent me back to his dimension.”

“Sounds like something he would pull,” Dipper scoffed. “I’m surprised he didn’t just kill you. There must be some gain for him from doing this.”

“Well how do I get back to my dimension?” you asked softly. “I mean, Bill said that he was going to destroy it. There has to be some way for me to help, right?”

Dipper looked conflicted. “I don’t know how to get you back to your exact dimension,” he confessed. “I’ll start working on it but I may need some help. What I don’t understand is why Bill would be allowed to go after another dimension. I thought that the other version of him would put a stop to it.”

Somehow you didn’t think that Will was going to be able to do much against the other dream demon.

“Until Dipper gets you back to your dimension, you can stay with us!” Mabel told you excitedly. “There’s an extra room and I think some of my clothing would fit you.”

Borrowing Mabel’s clothing hadn’t been something you had ever dared to ask about. She didn’t really understand the meaning of the word ‘share’ so it was needless to say that you were quite shocked at the offer.

“Really?” you asked.

“Of course!” Mabel said. “We should start a club called, ‘Bill Tricked Us!’”

“Bill has tricked you also?” you asked. The question was more aimed at Dipper than Mabel. In your dimension, he was the one that seemed to be involved with the whole dream demon stuff.

Dipper gave a slight nod. “A long time ago and he got us all. It’s what he does. He preys on your weaknesses and desires to make you give him what he wants. You should never trust any creature that calls themselves a dream demon. They’re all pretty much the same.”

 _Will included?_ You wondered to yourself. He had always seemed different but you had recently seen that he would do anything Dipper asked him to. Including trick you.

“Stop being so dramatic!” Mabel complained. “I’m sure that there are some dream demons who are perfectly nice! We’ve just never met them.”

“Whatever you say,” Dipper said, brushing the comment off. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions? If we’re going up against Bill again, I may need to know what’s going on.”

“I don’t know that myself but I can certainly try,” you offered. The more time you were spending around the twins, the more you were starting to relax. They didn’t seem to be anything like the Gleefuls that you knew. Even if they looked and sounded like them.

Dipper asked you a lot of questions while Mabel – bored with sitting and listening – went running off to go and set up your room.

“He’s resilient, that’s for sure,” Dipper commented after you explained how Bill appeared to you. “We basically destroyed him while he was inside the mindscape and he still managed to come back. Did he possess you?” You hesitated and Dipper nodded. “Okay, you don’t need to tell me about it. It’s a very invasive thing to go through once.”

“You’ve experienced it?” you asked.

He nodded. “When Mabel and I were 12 and we visited Gravity Falls. Bill managed to trick me into making a deal with him.”

“He’s very manipulative,” you admitted. You had honestly believed that Bill only wanted to get back to his dimension but the more you heard about him, you were beginning to be convinced that he planned it that way from the start.

Dipper was going to answer but before he could, Mabel came bounding down the stairs. “Okay!” she said triumphantly. “I managed to get the majority of the dust out of the room! Let’s take a break from all this serious stuff for a moment.”

“Alright,” Dipper said. “I think I should make some calls and see if anybody has any advice on pinpointing a specific dimension. Is there anything defining you can tell me about your dimension?”

“It’s nothing like this,” you said truthfully.

Mabel grabbed your hand then and led you to your temporary room which turned out to be the attic bedroom.  “Tada!” she said happily. “Decorating done by your truly, Mabel Pines!”

Your amusement at the brightly-colored room faded the moment she said that. Pines. Her last name wasn’t Gleeful in this dimension. It was the same as Gideon’s which would explain why she lived in the Mystery Shack.

“Something wrong?” Mabel asked, seemingly concerned over your very sudden silence.

“No, nothing,” you said quickly. “You just have a slightly different name in my dimension and it confused me a little.”

Mabel accepted your answer with no argument. “Makes sense,” she said. “I put some of my clothes in the cupboard if you want to get changed. You’re a little muddy.”

Glancing down, you cringed at how right she was. Your outfit was covered in the muck that made up the undergrowth of the forest. Your nose wrinkled. “Thanks, I’ll get changed now,” you told her. “Sorry to barge in like this.”

“It’s fine!” Mabel said with a laugh. “I love it when new people drop in! I’ll head downstairs and make you some premium Mabel Juice! It’ll make you feel instantly better!” She disappeared back through the door, shutting it behind her.

Taking a deep breath, you started to get changed, trying to calm down your racing mind and heart. Everything was currently feeling rather surreal. Like you were going to wake up from a dream at any moment.

It was only when you spotted the bright yellow mark on your leg that you froze.

Bill hadn’t been lying. It wasn’t a triangle. It was a zodiac. One that you had seen Bill draw once before.


	12. Chapter 12: A New Gravity Falls

The town was barely different in general appearance. The only things that had changed between your Gravity Falls and the one you were currently in was the people. Walking around the mall was like being in a brand new place even though you recognized the building.

Mabel had insisted that you go out and about with her while Dipper tried to figure out what was going on in your dimension and how to get you back there. It was becoming severely stressful when you thought about it so Mabel had decided to take your mind off of it. She still startled you at times, especially when she popped up out of nowhere looking so similar to your cousin, yet so much more colorful.

“We should go and get some ice cream,” Mabel told you excitedly. “I called Candy and Grenda so they’ll probably show up soon. I invited Pacifica also but I don’t know whether she’ll want to come. She’s been so busy lately.”

Candy and Grenda. You had heard the names before but you had never gotten to meet the actual people in your dimension. Mabel occasionally mentioned them in conversation. “Sounds great,” you said with a small, slightly forced grin.

You were still nervous and her distraction strategy hadn’t entirely worked.

Bill was in your dimension with a physical form, probably wreaking havoc and for the majority of the points, it was completely your fault. Everybody was in danger because of you.

Granted, Dipper and Mabel were probably reveling in the mayhem that had been caused, but there were others who shouldn’t be involved in it. Pacifica and Gideon would have no idea what was going on.

The thoughts were still in your mind when Mabel shoved an ice cream into your hand.

“You’re worrying about it too much,” she told you with a grin. Her own ice cream was more sprinkles than actual ice cream. “Bill’s still weak and he’s not the type to just rush into things. He’ll drag it out so Dipper and I can help you get rid of him.”

“What?” you asked blankly.

Mabel laughed. “We’re not going to just send you back to deal with him by yourself. We know Bill. We can help you get him out of your dimension for good.”

“What’s going to stop him from coming back?” you asked. “He said it himself, the barriers in my dimension are extremely weak.”

“I heard Dipper discussing that the other night,” Mabel said nonchalantly. “He thinks that if you can find the dream demon that’s supposed to be in your dimension and get him – or her – to become, I dunno, territorial (?) then maybe the barrier will get stronger against Bill. After that, Bill should be forced to stay away from your dimension like he has to avoid others.”

It was probably a good idea for any dimension other than your own. Will hardly came across as being strong enough to pull off something like that.

You avoided saying anything though.

Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica all showed up, effectively surprising you. Having seen the changes on Mabel, you were suspecting Pacifica to be more like your cousin. Only, she wasn’t. While a little cautious after Mabel had introduced you, she had seemed perfectly fine. Grenda was a little intimidating but was really sweet after you got past the exterior and Candy was brilliant at maintaining long and in-depth conversations about interesting topics.

Walking around the mall, visiting a few of the shops and the like, was actually rather fun. It was only when you sat down for lunch and the topic changed that it got a little awkward.

“So (y/n),” Grenda started. “Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend back in your dimension?”

You coughed a little and shook your head. “Uh… no. Not quite. I’m not really focusing on relationships at the moment. What about you guys?”

“Don’t try to deflect the subject,” Candy said, catching onto what you were trying to do. “You’re trying to hide something. Maybe a crush?”

“Maybe,” you allowed, realizing that you wouldn’t get away with lying. “I’ll give you a few more details if you tell me all of your own.” You had hoped that perhaps one of them would be able to provide a shift of attention somehow. It didn’t work out so well.

“Ours aren’t too dramatic,” Pacifica told you smugly. “Mabel’s crushing on the guy who works at the lake, Grenda’s in a long term relationship with Marius whatever his last name is, and Candy is on a no dating pact with herself. Your turn.”

Grenda scoffed. “Marius is starting to get on my nerves more and more with each day. Think I’m going to break up with him soon.”

“It’s about time,” Candy muttered. “You two are constantly on and off. I read that it’s not healthy for any relationship to do that. It’d probably be better if you just found other people.”

Mabel nodded in agreement before turning back to you. “Well…” she inquired. “Give us more details about this crush of yours.”

You searched quickly for an escape route and located one pretty soon. “Hold up, I said that I wanted to hear from everybody and Pacifica has told me nothing about hers. Is it some kind of secret that I’m not meant to know about?”

“Of course not!” Mabel told you with a laugh. “She likes Dipper. You just can’t tell him because he doesn’t know yet.”

“What?!” Pacifica spluttered, nearly knocking her drink over. “I do not like your brother in that way!”

Candy snickered. “Yes you do. Do you think we haven’t noticed how you blush and get all flustered when Dipper’s around?”

“I do not!” the blonde snapped in defense.

You chuckled, watching the argument between the four girls as they set out to prove that Pacifica had a crush on Dipper Pines. It appeared that your silent wish had been answered and they had found something more entertaining than questioning you. Distractions worked well when a change of topic was needed.

It wasn’t like you had anything too interesting to say either.

_“I think I may have a small attraction to this guy but I know that it’s pointless because he either wouldn’t care or wouldn’t be allowed to care. I don’t even know if there’s a rule or something against it but there might be. Heck, for all I know, I could end up dead as a result of it. Or tortured if either of my lovely cousins found out.”_

You were beginning to realize that your cousins were a little more than sadistic. They weren’t just control freaks. They were completely crazed.

Speaking of your cousins, you sat bolt upright when you spotted Dipper’s face. If it hadn’t been for his hair being a complete mess, you would have had complete heart failure. You very nearly did as a result of just seeing him.

He made his way over to where you were sitting and it was only once he entered the restaurant that you noticed the person behind him.

“Will?” you asked softly. It was just loud enough for Mabel to hear and look in the direction you were staring.

Dipper reached the table soon after and leaned against Pacifica’s chair, causing a bright red color to overtake the girl’s face. “We may have a problem,” he told you and Mabel. “Bill’s apparently decided to get rid of any competition in his ‘new’ realm.”

Will gaze flickered up to meet yours briefly before it turned back to the ground. His eye was bloodshot, he was no longer wearing his suit, and his hair was a mess. If you stared closely, you thought you could see hints of bruising on his collar bone. Some part of you suspected that it had nothing to do with a rough landing.

“What does this mean?” you asked Dipper. “If Bill’s kicking others out of the dimension?”

Dipper’s eyes narrowed. “It means that he’s apparently learnt from last time. We need to get to your dimension as quickly as possible and get some upgraded equipment.” He paused. “And maybe gather up the people needed for the zodiac.”

The zodiac on your leg sent a sharp sting though your skin.


	13. Chapter 13: This Is Not Meant To Happen

You had taken to chewing your nails.

You couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment the habit had developed but you were guessing it had occurred sometime while you were being thrown across dimensions. It seemed like a reasonable assumption to make given recent events.

So you were chewing on your nails while trying to think of the best way to bring up the topic.

“Do they hurt?” you asked softly. At first you were going to be subtle but you couldn’t really think of a way to do so.

Will looked up when you spoke. His eyes were glossed over and blood-shot. “Do what hurt?” he asked blankly.

“The injuries,” you clarified, gesturing to the bruises on Will’s arms and the scattered cuts.

“No,” he said. “They’re healing a lot faster than normal and most of them are from a rough landing when I arrived here. I barely feel them anymore unless I think about it. Why?”

“I’m worried about you,” you admitted.

Will glanced around the interior of the Mystery Shack nervously. “I’m not meant to be here,” he said. “I was told to never go near this place. Dipper was worried that Gideon might be able to figure out a way to break the bonds that hold me to the Gleefuls. He wouldn’t be pleased if he knew I wasn’t listening to his rule.”

“Well, technically, you’re in another dimension so you could classify it as a loophole,” you said. “I mean; this dimension’s version of Gideon probably doesn’t care all too much about that.”

“Being in another dimension doesn’t change the context of our deal,” Will muttered. “The deal spans all of time and space which includes alternate realities. There are methods of breaking it but I don’t know them well enough to risk them.”

“What if Dipper dies?” you asked, the words coming out your mouth before you could stop them. “Hypothetically speaking of course.”

“It would pass onto Mabel,” Will responded.

“And if she was gone also?”

Will thought about it before shrugging. “I suppose in that case, the deal would be rendered useless and cancel itself out. Not that it will ever happen like that. I’ve been told to make sure that nothing ever happens to them.”

“How are you going to do that from here?” you asked. “Clearly somebody didn’t think their plan through.”

“I’m not meant to be here in the first place,” Will muttered. His expression turned to one of fear. “I was just supposed to stay where I was. When I get back, I doubt they’ll be very happy.”

“Maybe Bill will take them out,” you suggested. Guilt crawled into your stomach at the words. “I mean, yeah, they’re my cousins and I know that it wouldn’t be a nice thing to go through but after all they’ve done, I’m not sure if my conscious cares that much anymore.”

“You care,” Will said softly. “Not as much as you used to but it’s still there.”

He was right, unfortunately, and you lapsed into silence. It was awkward and you weren’t sure why Dipper and Mabel thought you were the right person to try and get Will to talk a bit more about what was happening back in your dimension.

Mabel had gone out shopping and Dipper was busying himself with trying to figure out what had to be done to get you back.

Will sighed and his hand moved to his lower arm, rubbing it slightly. “I don’t want to go back,” he admitted, so quietly you nearly didn’t hear him.

You didn’t know the rules about interdimensional travel but you were sure that there must be some. “Do you have to go back?” you asked. “I mean, can’t you find another dimension where you’ll be hidden?”

Will shook his head. “I’m not powerful enough to do that.”

“Bill told me that all dream demons have the same powers,” you said. “Some of them just don’t use their abilities to their full potential. If he could do it, surely that means you would be able to also. It only makes sense.”

Will’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve never been powerful.”

“Or maybe you’ve never tried to be,” you suggested. “Have you ever had the chance to do something like that?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “And I couldn’t do it.” He really was rubbing his arm, the movement drawing your eyes. It looked like the same spot…

Gently, you took his wrist and pulled back the sleeve. Will flinched but made no move to pull away. He turned his attention guiltily to the floor when you revealed the jagged and bloodied cut that no longer had a bandage around it. It looked like it had been starting to knit closed on its own but part of it was recently reopened.

“I thought you said this would be fine,” you said.

Will gave a small nod. “It is. I know it looks bad but it’s completely fine. Now that I’m here, it’ll be healed even quicker.”

You tilted his chin and forced him to look you in the eye. “Will, please don’t lie to me,” you said. “Is this going to heal on its own or not. I’m not going to let you walk around here with an open wound that could become infected.”

“It may already be,” Will admitted quietly.

You sighed and shook your head. “Okay, we’re not waiting around any longer. We’re going to the hospital and seeing if they can stich it up properly.”

“Why?” Will asked.

“Because it’s obviously painful and if it gets worse – “

“No,” Will cut you off. He flinched afterwards. “Sorry but that’s not what I was asking. Why do you care whether or not it’s okay?”

“I don’t like the idea of you being in pain,” you explained with a small shrug. “I suppose dealing with my cousins might have given you a warped impression of people but most of the time, we’re not completely sadistic. Especially not around people we care for.”

“Care for?” Will asked. “You care for me?”

You shrugged. “Of course. You’ve really never given me a reason to not.”

There was a short moment of silence where you stared at Will, waiting for his response. And then you were kissing him.

You had no idea who had initiated it but it really didn’t matter. All that mattered was Will was kissing you. He had certainly never kissed anybody before, you could pick up that from how easily he allowed you to control the kiss.

Breaking the kiss, you moved away a little and opened your eyes. Your first thought was to apologize but then you saw Will’s expression.

“Is something wrong?” you asked.

“Your eye,” Will nearly whispered.

A cold feeling erupted in your stomach and you practically launched off the couch and over to the mirror that hung in the hall. Nausea washed over you as you stared at your bright yellow, slit-pupiled eye.

You stumbled away from the mirror and crashed backwards into the wall. “No,” you muttered. “No!”


	14. Chapter 14: Blood

Dipper and Mabel’s two great uncles were people that you had extremely vague memories of from your dimension. You had met them a grand total of once in your entire life and they were a lot like your cousins; a fact that had caused you to spend as little time as possible in their immediate company.

As per usual, this dimension was causing you a lot of confusion.

Stanford and Stanley had initially been a little skeptical (You were starting to think that perhaps you weren’t a nice person in their dimension.) but after Dipper explained, things changed a little. Not too much regarding Stanley who still watched you and Will cautiously, however Stanford had found a great interest in your ‘deal’ with Bill.

“This is fascinating,” he said as he studied your eye up close. The light he was using was making you see spots but you didn’t complain. “I’ve never seen a long-lasting effect such as this before.”

You swallowed, trying your hardest not to move your eyes to where Will was standing in the shadows of the lab. “Is it going to be there forever?” you asked nervously. “Should I start investing in a pair of permanent sunglasses?”

“Thankfully not,” Stanford said, finally moving the light away. “It appears that the yellow pigment is starting to fade and the pupil is returning to normal.”

“Then what caused it?” you asked.

He wrote something down in a journal and Dipper did the same. “I don’t know,” he eventually said. “I’ve seen many variations of Bill’s possession before and they’ve got similar traits but they do change depending on the person. I know for a fact that there was once a case where he had to share a body with the person’s actual spirit.”

“Does he normally leave tattoos?” you asked.

Stanford’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “No, not that I know of,” he said. “What type of marking did he leave on you?”

“Some kind of zodiac,” you explained. There was something about the situation that made you feel like keeping secrets was a bad idea. “I haven’t taken much time to study it in depth but there’s an image of him in the center and lots of little symbols around it.”

“Can I see it?” Stanford asked. “I have a suspicion about what it may be.”

You blushed almost automatically. “It’s a bit um…” you coughed. “High up on my leg.”

“Ah,” Stanford coughed awkwardly. “Right. I’m suppose there’s no true need for visual confirmation. I’ll show you a zodiac Bill often uses and I need you to just let me know if it looks similar or different.” He paged through the journal before picking up a second one. “I was hoping to never have to get involved with Bill again,” he muttered as he stopped on a page. He turned it to face you. “Does this look familiar?”

You stared at it. There were some things you recognized but others you didn’t. “Partially. A few of the symbols are different.”

Stanford grimaced. “I feared as much. Perhaps you can take a picture of the zodiac and I can work off of that. I need to find out what he’s planning.”

Mabel jumped out of her seat so quickly that she actually hit her head on one of the overhanging counters. “I’ll help!” she exclaimed, clutching her head. “You can’t get a good picture of your leg without some help and I’m the most trustworthy person in the room.”

You knew there was a secretive intention behind her words but without a proper excuse, you gave her a small nod. “Alright.”

She raced forwards and grabbed your arm, nearly yanking it out of its socket as she dragged you up the stairs and into her room. You had been in her bedroom multiple times before but you still got a headache the moment you stepped in. The amount of glitter was absolutely ridiculous. The only thing out of place was the red cross over the face of the unicorn on her wallpaper.

She grabbed your shoulders and spun you to face her. “What did you and Will do?” she asked excitedly.

You stared at her blankly. “What?”

“Don’t act dumb,” she told you. “I have a sixth sense for this kind of thing. I’ve never been wrong before and I doubt I’m wrong now. Are the two of you together in your dimension or something?”

“No,” you reassured her quickly. “We just kissed today.”

“I knew it!” Mabel shouted triumphantly. She clamped her hands over her mouth quickly, as if she hadn’t been expecting her voice to be quite so loud. “Sorry,” she apologized. “Is this really the first time anything has happened between you two?”

You gave a small nod. “Well, I guess I helped patch up his arm the other day but that doesn’t mean something.”

“Of course it does,” Mabel told you earnestly. “It shows that Will trusts you enough to let you have an opportunity to harm him. Trust is one of the most important things in a relationship.”

“We’re not in a relationship!” you said, a little sharper than you had anticipated. You didn’t want her to get the wrong idea though. It didn’t matter whether you wanted it to be true or not. You paused. Where had that thought come from?

Mabel huffed, picking up her phone and tapping her fingers against the screen impatiently. “Fine. I get it but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let it go.”

“Well, you’re going to have to,” you said as you adjusted your outfit the best you could in order to reveal the zodiac. It was quite high up on your leg so trying to do it modestly was quite hard.

Mabel stared at it with narrowed eyes. “He could have at least made it match your skin tone.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“I’m just saying,” she said, snapping a picture. “Neon yellow really doesn’t suit you. Especially with the types of outfits you normally wear and it is in one of the worst possible places. Can you imagine how painful it’ll be if you have to get it removed through laser surgery or whatever it is that they do?”

“I’m kind of hoping that isn’t going to be my only way to remove it,” you told her.

Mabel cringed. “Marks from Bill’s magic tend not to come off,” she admitted. “Whether it be scars, or anything else.”

You wanted to try and protest against the thought but from her tone, you gathered that she was speaking from personal experience. “You know, you guys haven’t really told me about what happened when you first encountered Bill,” you said.

Mabel’s smile returned and she shrugged, turning off her phone. “I’m not the best person to tell you that. I was trapped inside a huge bubble for the majority of the time.” Then she left without any more information.

You watched her go and shook your head. She was out to confuse you; you were sure of it.

As you went to follow her, a small coughing fit overtook your body. It wasn’t a particularly bad one but when you moved your hand away from your face, specks of blood covered your palm.

 _“It isn’t important,”_ your mind told you. _“It’s not painful or anything. You don’t want them to see it.”_

You gave a small nod of agreement and washed your hands in the sink before heading back into the basement, claiming you had to use the bathroom as an excuse for why you took so long.


	15. Chapter 15: Me?

Of all the things you had been expecting to see when you went to answer the door, yourself had not been one of them. They looked identical to you with only a few minor changes such as hairstyle and a different style of clothing. They blinked in confusion, eyeing you up and down as well. “What the…?” they trailed off as Mabel joined you.

“Hey (y/n),” she greeted, and you looked at her uncertainly. “Not you (y/n),” she quickly clarified. “Them (y/n).” She looked between the two of you and gave a small grin. “This is a lot weirder than I thought it would be. This is the (y/n) from our dimension and the (y/n) from another dimension,” she introduced.

“Just when I thought this ridiculous town couldn’t get any weirder,” the other you said. They walked into the house, brushing past you and Mabel. “Ford had better have a good reason for bringing me back to this pathetic excuse for a house,” they sniffed.

Mabel gave a small grin but it seemed almost strained. “I don’t think anybody else is awake yet but – “

“I’ll go wake them,” they said sharply. They marched off, heading towards the bedroom and you looked at Mabel with wide eyes.

She offered you a sheepish grin. “Um… maybe you aren’t the nicest person in this dimension but you’re not the worst! Sometimes you’re actually quite nice! Occasionally we get along quite well. Other times, I’m more inclined to ask Dipper if we can throw them through the portal and keep you here. Will can stay also.”

“Drop it,” you warned her, stalking off after the other you.

You were starting to get irritated with Mabel’s insistent comments about Will. The dream demon had barely spoken a few words to you after your eyes decided to change color and shape. He was avoiding you and you were pretending not to notice. Except you did notice.

Of course you did.

The other you appeared to have woken Dipper up as he was leaning blearily against one of the walls, rubbing his eyes. “I see (y/n) is here,” he commented as you and Mabel walked up.

“It’s strange to hear people using my name but not talking to me,” you commented.

Dipper gave a humorless laugh. “I thought it was you at first and I was going to ask what the hell you were thinking waking me up so early. Then I had a horrible moment of realization. I knew Ford invited them but I didn’t think they would arrive so soon.”

“Why did Ford invite another version of me?” you asked.

For a second Dipper looked confused and then he gave himself a small face palm. “Damn,” he muttered. “I was going to tell you but I forgot. Ford thinks that we may be able to recreate a way back to your dimension using their DNA. Do you want me to explain in more detail or…?”

“It’s fine,” you assured him. “You may want to let everyone else know though.” _Especially Will,_ your mind added on. You didn’t want him to think you had gone crazy for some reason.

Mabel jumped and ran off. “I’ll go tell Will,” she assured you. Sometimes you wondered whether or not she had mind-reading powers.

Dipper cringed and gave you an apologetic look. “I don’t know if Mabel’s prepped you or anything but I want to apologize in advance and forewarn you that in this dimension, your personality is almost completely swapped. You despise Gravity Falls and most things weird so, there’s a high possibility that you won’t be in the same room together for long.”

“Strangely enough, I think I’ll be fine with that,” you admitted.

You kept an eye on the ‘other you’ as well as you could without it being obvious. They were clearly very bored, rapping their fingers across the table and glaring at nothing in particular. They didn’t appear impressed with anything and they were making sure to keep a wide berth between the two of you.

Eventually you got to the point where you couldn’t put up with it anymore. You walked as quietly as you could out of the lair/lab thing… you didn’t know what they were calling it now.

Will was standing outside the vending machine when you pushed it open. He stared at you uncertainly, and for a second, you didn’t think he was going to speak but he did. “They’re getting closer,” he told you. “I can feel the connection between our world and this one growing stronger.”

“You can do that?” you asked, mildly impressed.

He blushed a little at the obvious awe in your voice. “I can do a lot of things. In terms of dream demons, I’m one of the most powerful ones out there. Well, I’m supposed to be.”

 _Dipper was right,_ you thought. Out loud you said, “I’d hate to get on your bad side.”

“I would never do anything bad on purpose,” Will muttered. “Even if I am angry. I can’t bring myself to harm other life…” he trailed off. “I suppose it makes me a pretty useless demon.”

“Well, I’d rather have a ‘useless’ demon on my side than have a psychopathic one trying to kill me,” you said, placing heavy emphasis on the air quotes. “I’m actually extremely grateful I’m not being forced to fight against you. I would hate having to do that.”

“I couldn’t harm you,” Will admitted.

“Oh, I’m not worried about that,” you reassured him. “I trust you. Not something I thought I would ever say to a demon but it’s true. It’s just that, I wouldn’t want to fight you.”

Will started to say something but stopped himself. “I wouldn’t want to be on the opposing side to you either.”

You sighed and nodded. “When did this become a side thing?”

“Probably when Bill kicked you out of our dimension,” Will said.

“I think it was when Bill showed up in the first place,” you muttered bitterly. Dipper had tried his hardest to convince you that it wasn’t your fault and that the dream demon could trick anybody who hadn’t met him before but it was a little hard to believe. As far as you knew, Dipper had never kick started an event that could destroy the universe.

Will seemed to pick up on the mood and he offered you a sympathetic look. “Dream demons are known to actively go after people who won’t know anything about them. At least in our dimension. I used to be able to sense who was the most vulnerable person in an area, what they wanted, and whether I’d be able to trick them into making a deal. I never tested to see if it was right but Bill might have done the same thing.”

“Used to?” you asked. “Why can’t you do it anymore?”

Will cringed. “I guess… I haven’t tried to. I’ve never liked doing it. It makes me feel like I’m invading somebody’s privacy completely.”

“You are a very strange dream demon,” you said. “Not in a bad way. Just from what I’ve heard about other dream demons, it doesn’t seem like you’re anything like them.”

“I don’t get along well with them,” he admitted. “I’ve met them a few times but I don’t really like them. I find humans much more interesting. Even if they’re not the most powerful species out there, they’ve got a lot of unique talents. I guess they were right.” His shoulders slumped. “It was my own fault that the Gleefuls tricked me.”

You rolled your eyes. “They probably would have found another way to do it even if you weren’t curious about humans. My cousins are… I don’t even know if I would call them human.”

“They’re much nicer here,” Will said. “But the moment they open the portal, I’m going to have the bindings snap back into place.”

“Is there a way to break them?” you asked. Your entire mind, body, and soul wanted to jump to Will’s defense and make him cheer up when he looked so upset.

“Not that I know of,” Will admitted softly.

You reached out on instinct and gently took his hand. “Don’t worry about it,” you reassured him. “I’m sure there’s some way to do it.”


	16. Chapter 16: Back to the Reverse

When you were living in your world, it always felt as though time was just dragging along. One hour often felt like a full day and you would never understand the complaint about not having enough time. You got everything done easily and there was always time to be bored. At least, so you felt.

Now that you were in this other dimension, time appeared to have picked up the pace. The days were flying by and before you knew it, it had been two weeks since you were kicked through the portal. The closer that Ford and Dipper came to reopening the bridge between the worlds, the more ill you were feeling. And not because you didn’t want to go back. You didn’t. Although it wasn’t that that was making you feel ill.

The tattoo was burning you often now. It felt like a hot iron was being pressed into your skin constantly to brand you. You were struggling to eat and when you did, you often ended up vomiting a few hours later. Mabel caught you once but you brushed it off as food poisoning. Luckily, she didn’t notice any blood and offered you some medicine the next day. It didn’t help.

Oddly enough, you saw no outwards effects of whatever illness you had. You weren’t losing weight from constantly bringing up your food. Your skin hadn’t gotten any paler and you weren’t sweating like you should have been.

You looked completely fine. It was scaring you a little.

Two days after the two-week mark had passed, you had hit some kind of standstill. Dipper and Ford had apparently managed to open a portal, if only for a brief second. You had been standing talking to Pacifica when it happened. A wave of pain and nausea had hit you at the same time, causing you to collapse without warning. Your leg refused to function for a good hour after that.

It was why you were currently sitting in the lab, having scans done on you. Thankfully the other version of you wasn’t there. She had taken to making rather insulting comments whenever you were in earshot.

“You’re not showing any visible signs of injury,” Ford told you as he reviewed the information that had appeared on the screen. “Or illness. I don’t understand why this would happen. Have you been feeling any other effects lately?”

 _“Lie,”_ your mind whispered. The little voice in your head had been giving a lot of orders lately and you were listening to them without thinking twice.

“No,” you responded.

Ford placed the tablet down and picked up a journal off the table. “Perhaps this is Bill’s way of stopping you from returning to the Reverse,” he summarized. “Cause extreme pain every time you get near a means of getting back.”

“What did I ever do to him?” you muttered. “I actually thought I was a rather nice person when confronted with a dream demon.”

“Bill doesn’t need a reason to do anything,” Ford responded. “He’s probably just done this to cause you to suffer. He loves chaos and pain. This was probably all a joke to him. Although normally he does like to watch his jokes play out so this is a bit unusual.”

A loud cackling laugh filled your head and your entire body ran cold. _“Ah, Six-Fingers knows me too well,”_ Bill said. _“There’s no way I would have pulled something like this without coming to see what happens.”_

“I –“ you couldn’t say anything more before your voice gained a mind of its own. “Don’t really understand him.”

Ford scoffed. “I don’t think anybody would be able to. He’s not the kind of creature that you want to understand either.”

“Apparently, he’s not the type of creature you can kill,” Mabel added in.

Bill laughed loudly in your head, the sound seeming to bounce of the sides of your skull. _“Doesn’t this situation seem a little familiar? I’m in here, they’re out there but you can’t tell them what’s going on inside your head. Do you know why? Because once you let me in, I never leave. Not properly. Even with Dipper and Fordsy over here.”_

“You –“ you started but your voice cut off again.

 _“It’s very rude to interrupt somebody while they’re trying to speak,”_ Bill reprimanded. _“Not that it matters. Pine Tree is going to open that portal in 3… 2… 1…”_

“Guys! I’ve stabilized the portal!” Dipper’s voice rang through the lab and you instinctively cringed, waiting for the pain.

 _“Don’t be ridiculous,”_ Bill told you. _“Listening to Ford is always a bad idea. Why would I want to keep you out of the Reverse Falls? I have big plans and lucky you! You’re involved!”_

Mabel hopped out of the twirling seat and started to race upstairs. “I’ll go call Will!” she shouted over her shoulder.

Ford looked at you curiously. “How do you feel?”

“Fine,” you answered in a chirpy voice. You couldn’t answer anything else. Your body wasn’t responding at all anymore. It stood without warning, causing a dizzy spiral of note. “How does it look? I hope everything hasn’t been destroyed.”

Ford watched you as if he was expecting you to collapse at any given moment. “I’m a little worried about this tattoo thing currently. If it wasn’t because of the portal opening, why did you collapse? Bill – “

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” you said quickly. “Probably just a coincidence.”

 _“And something that was needed,”_ Bill continued but this time, he spoke only in your mind. _“If I didn’t show you what I can do to you from just the slightest thought, you wouldn’t know that type of pain. It wouldn’t be such a threat anymore.”_

You wanted desperately to tell him that he wasn’t intimidating you with the threat. You wanted to bluff or lie about how the pain wasn’t bad enough to make you fear him. It was a little hard to lie to somebody who was in your head though.

Bill forced you to stand up, taking away any control you had once had over your body. “We need to hurry,” he said in your voice. “The longer we wait, the more powerful Bill gets. You guys are going to come with me and help me get rid of him, right?”

You tried desperately to warn Ford in some way about whatever trap was being set up but it was to no avail.

“Of course,” Ford agreed. “Give me a few minutes to pack some equipment.” He was still suspicious but Bill’s logic seemed to have momentarily distracted him.

 _“The perks of being inside somebody’s head,”_ Bill cooed. _“You learn **everything** about them.”_

Cringing at the implication in his voice, you refocused your attempts on regaining control over your body. You were distracted by an aching pain that shot through your spine. Bill had warned you about what he could do. Looking towards your own self-preservation, you stopped fighting.

When Will entered the room, Bill forced you to look away from him and avoid any eye contact. You could see the confusion in Will’s expression but there wasn’t anything you could do to help that.

Mabel came racing over to you, holding a gun in her hands. She held it out. “Do you know how to shoot one?” she asked.

“Yes,” Bill responded with ease, taking the weapon from her. That wasn’t true. You had no idea how to use a weapon in a combat situation. He looked down at it curiously. “What use is this going to be against a demon?”

“Ford made them,” Mabel told you excitedly, gesturing to the one sitting in the holster on her hip. “They’re specially designed so that they can hurt only dream demons. They won’t even affect humans in the slightest.”

Bill grinned and for a second, suspicion flashed in Mabel’s eyes. Bill noticed and was quick to clarify, “At least there’s little chance of me accidently hurting anybody. I would hate that.”

Mabel smiled broadly then. You desperately tried to call out to her, to tell her that the creature she was speaking to wasn’t you. It didn’t help.

“Do you have any sunglasses?” Bill asked. “Last time I saw Bill, he nearly blinded me with his magic. If I’m going to need to aim properly, I need my eyesight perfect.”

“Yep!” Mabel said and she raced upstairs to go and get some.

Bill scrutinized your face in the reflective metal of Ford’s lab desk. He grinned manically and reached up to rub your eyes a little. “She had better hurry,” he mused. “I can’t keep up such a façade properly from so far away.”

Will – who had been standing in a corner somewhere on the right – let out a small hiss of pain, causing you to instinctively want to look towards him. Bill stopped you from following through with it. _“Don’t worry your pretty little mind with that,”_ he hissed at you within your mind. _“He’s just experiencing those lovely bonds take control of him again. Weak demons tend to get themselves into situations like this.”_

You wanted to snap at Bill about that but before you did, the memories of not being able to use your leg came flooding back and you bit your tongue.

 _“Clever mortal,”_ Bill mused. _“You learn quickly.”_

“Are we ready to go?” Dipper called from the other room. The room where the portal to your world was. The way back to your home… and yet you wanted nothing more than to destroy it and remain where you were currently.

“Just waiting for Mabel,” Bill answered for you.

Mabel came downstairs soon enough, holding out the sunglasses to you and putting on her own pair. The moment you put them on, what you saw before you warped. Everything still looked the same but it was different. You could see weird, glowing outlines around people and when you look down, you saw nothing but darkness obscuring your body.

 _“Souls are interesting things to view, aren’t they?”_ Bill asked. _“Look at how bright Shooting Star’s is and then look back down at yours. Corrupted.”_

Dread settled over you but it had no effect on Bill as stated loudly. “Let’s not bide our time much longer. We don’t have eternity to waste.”


	17. Chapter 17: Helpless

The world was a lot less… wasteland-like than you were expecting. Everything looked normal. As normal as it ever did when you were in Gravity Falls.

Birds sang from their perches in the huge trees that lined the road. People were walking around and chatting, nobody even glancing towards the group of people that had just appeared in the middle of the street. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see those insufferable gnomes sneaking around behind the restaurant. Nothing was amiss.

“You know,” Mabel finally said. “I was really thinking we were going into another Weirdmageddon type thing. This just looks like our town. Mostly.”

“It could be a trick,” Dipper said, his eyes darted around like he expected something to jump out at any moment. “Bill may just be wanting us to feel comfortable before he attacks us.”

“Or maybe he got bored and left,” Mabel offered.

 _“C’mon now!”_ Bill complained in your head. _“Cut a guy some slack. I can hardly be in your head and out there at the same time. I’m not an all-powerful demon you know! Wait…”_

Ford holstered his weapon and turned to look at the mansion on the hill. “You said that your cousins live up there?”

“Yes,” you answered but Bill stopped you from saying anything else.

Will spoke up so suddenly and from so close that it startled you. Although your body didn’t move an inch. “It’s odd,” he said. “We’re here and the ties of my deal have reappeared but it’s almost as though, they’re weakened.”

You stiffened. “How’s that possible?” Bill spat. He was quick to try and change the harsh tone but it was a little late. “I mean… you said they couldn’t be broken.”

“I know,” Will muttered, his gaze turning away from yours and his voice returning to a small whisper. “I don’t understand it either.”

Your heart ached. You had worked so hard at getting him to trust you and Bill was going to ruin it. The dream demon in your head scoffed at you. The longer he spent in your thoughts, the greater your anger became.

“Something’s definitely wrong,” Ford muttered. “And to find out what, we’re going to need to go up to that house.”

“It’s a trap,” Stan said immediately. “You know it is.”

“But do we actually have a choice here?” Ford asked. “We could look around the town for a while but I can tell you right now we won’t find anything. We’ll take as many precautions as possible but it’s not going to be possible to avoid it.”

As you started walking up towards the house, the four Pines started talking about plans. They were being smart about this. Wanting to avoid confrontation and danger. And the _entire_ time, Bill was humming in your mind and laughing at how it wasn’t going to work.

And you couldn’t tell them.

You were interrupted in sending mental waves of hate when Will moved to walk alongside you. “Are you okay?” he asked in a hushed tone. The others were too absorbed to notice anything. “You’re a little –“

“Why does it matter?” Bill interrupted snappishly. “Maybe I’ve just gotten tired of all of this. Maybe I want to go home and never come back to this town. And maybe I’m angry with you for getting me into all this mess!”

Will turned away from you immediately, but you didn’t miss the flash of hurt in his eyes. “I didn’t –“

“Do anything? No. And that’s exactly the problem! If you had done something… if you had acted like a proper demon, then Bill wouldn’t have chosen this dimension to ruin!” Bill snarled and the gleeful triumph that coursed through you nearly made you ill.

You were forced to pick up the pace and leave Will behind, not even being able to look back and see the damage that Bill had caused.

Mabel opened her mouth to speak when you started walking next to her but the expression on your face clearly said enough and she lapsed into silence.

 _“Didn’t know humans could feel so much hate,”_ Bill muttered.

“Believe it,” you snarled at him, knowing it would sound a thousand times more threatening if you got to say it out loud. “What has Will done that has made you dislike him so much?”

 _“Exist,”_ Bill said. He laughed. _“He’s not a real demon yet he calls himself one. You’re going to meet my friends soon enough and then you’ll understand.”_

“What friends?”

But you didn’t get any answer. Bill just laughed and the sound echoed in your head. For as long as you lived, you would never forget it.

Soon enough, the mansion loomed in front of you. There was no movement to be seen. The birds had fallen quiet as soon as you had gotten close enough. It felt unreal. If you had been creeped out upon arriving the first time, it was nothing compared to what you felt now.

“Are there any other entrances in?” Dipper asked.

“No,” Bill answered sharply. He sent a threatening look in Will’s direction before anybody could see. “This is our only way in.”

“The Northwest manor has a secret passageway in,” Mabel piped up. “They’re technically the same building, right? Maybe you just don’t know about it.”

Bill made a headache-inducing sound similar to grinding one’s teeth. Initially you thought he had done it out loud because Will flinched a little but nobody else reacted. “There’s no time to be wasted,” Bill told the others. “We can’t go digging around in hopes there’s a secret passage.”

Before anybody else could respond, he marched forwards and shoved the door open. It didn’t make a sound but the temperature alone was enough to send chills down your spine.

“It’s cold,” Mabel said, shivering. “Don’t they have heating?”

You didn’t know what she was talking about. You didn’t feel cold at all. If anything, it felt almost humid.

As silently as possible, everybody followed you into the abandoned passages. Everything was in its place; from the ornaments to the huge painting of Dipper and Mabel that hung central in the entrance hall. It was all spotless and clean, as always. It was wrong.

But you couldn’t tell anybody that.

Bill had a destination in mind and he was getting impatient at the slow pace. He kept urging the others on, telling them that he knew where they needed to go. You desperately tried to get a warning to them but it didn’t help at all.

Dipper was waiting for you. You expected him to be.

When you walked into the large dining room, he was standing against the one wall. He was bored out of his mind. You were the only one that didn’t startle upon seeing him.

“Took you long enough,” he muttered and with a flick of his wrist, your allies all went flying into a wall. Blue chains snapped into place around their wrists; you and Will the only ones left free.

Bill laughed and this time, the sound was heard by everybody. He reached up and took the glasses off your face. He threw them into the fireplace and walked over to where Dipper was standing. Just like you, your cousin had a black haze hanging around him.

“Will!” Dipper barked. “Why didn’t you make sure they returned sooner? Were you planning on trying to escape?”

The demon’s entire body went rigid and he bowed his head. “No,” he whispered. “I would never.”

“Damn right!” Bill said, his real voice sounding out alongside yours. “I have eyes everywhere. Nobody could escape from me and my friends.”

“Who will be here soon,” Dipper ordered harshly.

Bill spun on him and snarled, “Watch yourself child. I may have agreed to work with you but I am not under your control. I could kill you at any time.”

Dipper scoffed. “You should have chosen a more intimidating body if you wanted to scare me.” He paused. “Is my cousin still in there?”

“Yep,” Bill said happily.

Dipper’s eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you remove them from the body?”

Bill huffed. “I don’t have to justify myself to you. I suppose you could say my sadistic tendencies tend to take over from time to time.”

For a second, the two were locked in a staring contest of sorts before Dipper broke away. He snarled an order at Will to follow him and swept out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Touchy, touchy,” Bill muttered. “As for you four, I do believe Miss Gleeful is anticipating you.”

After he teleported them away, Bill groaned and sat down in a chair. Then you could sudden control your body again.

You jumped up, preparing to run but your leg was on fire. You collapsed to the ground, shrieking in pain and clawing at your jeans. Your skin was melting. The room went dark and your body curled up into a ball before it all disappeared without a trace.

“Piece of advice,” Bill hummed from somewhere in your head. “Moving without me giving you permission causes that.”


	18. Chapter 18: Sibling Fights

When Mabel stalked into the room, she didn’t even glance towards you. Waddles marched behind her like some kind of warden. He looked at you. No… not just looked. He glared at you with such hatred that you feared he was going to charge at any moment and you wouldn’t be able to get away. Bill wasn’t exactly going to stop it from happening given his enjoyment of pain.

Thankfully, Waddles appeared to be stuck to Mabel’s side and refused to be more than a few centimeters away from her at any given time. Nothing, not chairs nor tables, remained standing if they were blocking his path.

“What has he said?” Mabel snapped at Bill. Her knuckles were white around the knife she clutched in her hand. “I know the two of you have been scheming without me! What are Dipper’s plans? I order you to tell me!”

Bill scoffed at her. “You are in no position to be telling me what to do girl,” he said dismissively. “My dealings with your brother are separate from my dealings with you.”

“I don’t make deals with demons,” Mabel said. “That’s Dipper’s thing. Normally, I’ll go along with it but now you’re not including me and that’s making me angry!”

You took note of the blue gem in her headband as it lit up. You wanted to get out of her range but even the slightest movement was causing you pain. “Mabel,” you said softly, trying to get her attention. “Maybe you should calm down.”

“Calm down?!” she shrieked. “My own brother is going to betray me!”

Bill shook his head. “Where did you hear that?” he asked. “I’m beginning to think you’re losing it my dear. Hearing things that aren’t actually happening…”

“I just overheard him speaking to that pathetic excuse for a demon about plans!” Mabel snarled. “If this is what the two of you have been plotting during your little ‘private’ meetings, there is going to be hell to pay! How dare you leave me out of things?!”

“ _I_ have had no part in any plans to get rid of you,” Bill answered. “If your brother is truly planning on that, it was completely his own thought. Or maybe it was Will’s… you never know.”

“As if he would have the spine to do something like that!” Mabel dismissed. “He’s too weak and cowardly!”

Bill’s eyes flashed dangerously and the rune on your leg began to heat up. “Be careful,” he warned Mabel. “Many times, a human has fallen from underestimating a demon. Will may not be the most powerful being but he is still a demon. You can trust that deep down, he’s as demonic as I am. Maybe even more.”

“You’re lying,” you muttered, almost completely out of instinct. “He’s nothing like you.”

“Ignore this foolish creature,” Bill ordered. “Your cousin is blinded by emotion and has become disillusioned as a result.”

Mabel finally seemed to properly register that you were in the room also. She eyed you as though you were something sticky on the bottom of her shoe. “Why are you keeping them here?” she asked Bill. “What use do they have now?”

“When this portal opens, a few of my friends are sure to be looking for a bite to eat,” Bill answered casually.

Your eyes widened and you attempted to plead with Mabel through your expression. You may not have always gotten along but surely, she wouldn’t allow you to be eaten by some demon, right?

The door opened, startling you. You bit your lip to prevent a whimper when pain racked your leg.

“You’ve been eavesdropping on me!” Dipper’s normally cold and calculating voice was filled with emotion. Anger to be more specific. “Just who do you think you are?! After how I’ve looked after you and shared so much power with you, you spy on me!”

“Well clearly I needed to!” Mabel snarled, spinning on her brother. “Clearly, you’re nothing more than a pitiful rat! You were plotting to betray us all behind our backs!”

Dipper’s eyes narrowed. “Will!” he barked. “Help me in teaching this little sneak her place!”

Only then did you notice Will, hiding in the hall and peering into the room. Something looked off about him but before you could see what it was, Waddles frightened you by letting out a large squeal and charging at Dipper.

The gemstone on Dipper’s suit lit up and with a flick of his hand, the pig went flying away from him.

“Waddles!” Mabel shrieked. She held her knife towards Dipper. “You’ll pay for that one!”

Bill had stopped fiddling with the runes he had been sketching to watch. The entire situation appeared to be amusing him greatly. With him so distracted, you attempted to move a little. There was no pain. You briefly contemplated trying to escape but that would only bring his attention back to you. With that, came pain.

Then there was blue fire.

It ran along the walls, streaking around the two Gleefuls and startling them out of their argument. The flames rose higher and higher. They moved between you and Bill and created a wall.

The moment you were separated from Bill’s presence, it felt as though everything had been lifted off your shoulders. You were no longer crippled by fear or anxiety. Determination and relief flooded you and you stood up feeling no pain.

The path between you and the door was still open so you bolted.

You could hear the flames roaring behind you and people were shouting but you ignored it all. You had to find your allies and escape. Once you managed that, you could find a new way of attacking Bill.

You had a vague idea of where Mabel would have put them. So, you ran and you ran. Soon, you couldn’t hear anything behind you anymore and the mansion became deadly silent. The only noise were your thudding footsteps on the ground as they echoed through the halls until finally you came to a stop in front of Mabel’s bedroom door.

When you were much younger, you had gone into her room and ran away crying. You swore to never go back inside but now… now you didn’t even hesitate.

Your hunch had been correct.

Mabel’s bedroom was still the torture chamber you remembered it being but now, four people sat chained to the wall. They looked up at you, momentarily startled, before breathing soft sighs of relief at who you were.

“The key to the chains is on the dresser,” Ford told you.

You snatched it up and quick ran to undo Mabel’s bindings. It was hard to get the key into the slot with how badly your hands were shaking but you nevertheless managed. Once she was free, you turned your attention to Dipper, then Ford, and finally Stan. Dipper appeared to have been your cousin’s main target as scars littered his face.

“How did you get away from Bill?” Dipper asked. His suspicion was justified but it still stung a little to know that it was.

“Fire,” you muttered. “There was a lot of blue fire. It kind of broke whatever spell Bill had on me and allowed me to escape.”

Ford appeared to think over your statement in great detail. “I knew that Will had to have some form of power,” he mused. “For him to break Bill’s hold over a person though…”

“You think it was Will?” you asked.

“Obviously it was,” Ford answered. “The only type of fire that could do that is demonic fire and given that it was blue, I thought it would have been pretty clear who was creating it.”

The thought hadn’t even crossed your mind while you were fleeing. “But that means Will’s in trouble!”

“First, we need to escape from this mansion,” Dipper said. “After that we can decide on a plan of action to not be caught off guard.” He rummaged around in one of Mabel’s many cupboards and pulled out the weapons they had brought with. “If Bill’s distracted, we may have a chance to get away.”

You grabbed one of the guns off the ground without warning. “And if he’s distracted, we may have a chance to get rid of him once and for all.”

You didn’t wait for an answer before you bolted out of the room.


	19. Chapter 19: What You Can Never Unsee

Demonic fire was an odd thing. It left no marks, made no sound, and didn’t create heat but when it touched your skin, it still burnt as though it was regular fire. Even if it barely brushed against you as you dodged out of the way.

Bill hadn’t been too distracted. He had seen your shot coming and dodged it, retaliating with a ball of fire flung in your direction. For a moment, he focused his attention solely on you but soon he was forced to turn back to Will. You hadn’t ever seen Will fight before and the sight was terrifying in more ways than one.

The fire still raged around you, obscuring the entire dining room from your view. Although you were quite sure a wall had been knocked down.

Waddles let out a loud squeal from somewhere beyond the wall of fire.

Shakily, you pulled yourself back to your feet and raised the weapon again. Before you could shoot, a large piece of wood came whirling out and forced you to dodge again. There was no way you could get a clear shot. Especially having never shot a gun before in your life.

You could hear two different variations of Mable’s voice yelling from somewhere else in the fire but you had long since forgotten the way out and you could barely understand what they were saying.

Bill had disappeared into the fire again and you crept towards where he had once been.

Your arm brushed against the blue fire and you recoiled from pain. You stared into the cyan flames, contemplating how Will had ever created such a thing. It looked so unnatural and so demonic… something inbred into your very nature made you wanted to run from it.

The fire was like an unpredictable maze and every step brought you closer to death. If it hadn’t been for the adrenaline pumping in your veins, you probably would have fainted.

Your ears were ringing and even though the fire didn’t cackle, the sounds of the fights raging around you was giving you a headache.

And then you stumbled across Waddles.

Those beady little eyes stared up at you, completely lifeless. It was as though reality slammed into you with the force of a steam engine. Waddles was dead. He had a jagged piece of wood stabbing through his throat and he lay in a pool of blood. You weren’t playing a game or watching a movie… you could end up just like him.

You stumbled backwards, shaking your head rapidly. Tears streamed down your cheeks and you tried to turn to run. The fire was closer than you thought and you screamed in pain as you walked straight into it. You thrashed to try and put out the illusion and only hurt yourself more.

The gun dropped from your hand and clattered loudly to the ground, the noise ringing in your ears.

You tripped over something and fell backwards, your head smacking against the hard floor. Black spots danced in front of your vision. Flames were licking at you but you suddenly couldn’t bring yourself to cry out any more.

It felt like forever that you lay there. The world moved around you but nothing in your body wanted to respond.

Somebody was saying your name repeatedly. You figured you should probably respond but it was too much effort to do so. It was only when they started shaking your shoulders that you remembered what the situation was.

Mabel and Dipper, the cousins you had wished you could have had all your life, were kneeling next to you and arguing.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to shake somebody with a possible concussion?” Dipper was asking her. “You could cause more damage!”

Mabel stuck her tongue out. “They don’t have a concussion. Besides, it worked, didn’t it?”

You blinked at them, not sure what to make of what was going on. There was a dull throb in the back of your head and the bright light from the fire wasn’t making it any better. You let out a small moan of distress and tried to turn away but it was everywhere.

Then, you remembered what was going on and bolted upright. You need to escape. It was too dangerous to be playing with demons.

You were going to voice this to the twins when a loud voice shouted over the noise.

“Enough!”                                                                                                                     

Blue hands reached up and wrapped around your body, turning to chains and yanking you into the air. The twins were quickly subjected to the same fate. The fire disappeared, allowing you to see the destruction that was once the dining room. All the items that had been floating in the air dropped and smashed on the ground.

Bill stood at the side, his eyes black and his body seething with rage. His hair was singed and his body appeared to have actually sustained some severe damage.

“Release me!” Dipper was shouting from somewhere behind you. The cousin you had known for so long no longer sounded like himself. His voice was ragged and shaky.

Bill took a few deep breaths and slowly returned to normal, the damage fading rapidly. “This may have gotten a little out of control,” he said simply. “But it’s an easy enough fix. I’m done with you pathetic humans and whatever this excuse for a demon is.”

His statement made you look around for Will. He was obscured from your vision by what appeared to be half the dining room table but you could see the top of his head if you looked closely. It was matted with what looked like blood.

Bill clicked his fingers and the Dipper from another dimension flew forward.

And the gunshot sounded. Twice.

The chains disappeared and you dropped to the floor with a loud yelp of pain. A blinding pain raced through your ankle when you tried to move it. Lifting your head, you could see Bill glaring at somebody behind you.

“You bitch,” he snarled as the third gunshot rang out.

That was what did it. Bill started breaking up at the seams. He rippled and shook like a TV that was losing connection. He was shouting something but it wasn’t in any language that you recognized.

His voice slowly climbed in pitch until it was so high it felt like your ears were going to bleed. You desperately covered your ears and shut your eyes in hopes that it would stop the noise. Thankfully, it eventually ended with one last screech.

There was a soft clicking noise as Mabel, still clad in those sparkly blue heels, walked over to you.

“Do you know what I did?” she asked you gently. There was a malice in her voice that made you want to crawl away.

“You killed Bill,” you answered.

“No,” she said. “Don’t be stupid. I didn’t kill him, I dispersed him to another realm. Useful weapon you have here. It works on humans also. Do you know how I know that?”

“Because you’re really smart,” you suggested.

Mabel’s icy blue eyes narrowed. “No. Because I just shot and killed my brother.”

You turned your attention to where Dipper had been, where you had heard his voice earlier. True to Mabel’s word, he lay unmoving on the ground. Dead? He couldn’t be. Your brain desperately argued with you against that fact.

“He killed Waddles,” Mabel muttered but there was no twinge of sadness in her voice. “And he was going to kill me. When I found your gun next to you, I knew that I had to use it to get rid of him.”

“But…” you struggled to get any words out.

Mabel aimed the barrel of the gun at your head. “You need to die also,” she said. “It’s your fault.”

Your survival instinct kicked in quicker than you ever thought it would. “Wait!” you shouted rapidly. “I’m the last family you have Mabel. You’ve always told me you hate being alone because there’s nobody to admire you and you can’t show yourself up.”

“Everybody already knows I’m better than you,” she said. “And I don’t care for family. Clearly you can’t actually trust it.”

“Not everybody,” you said, carefully monitoring your words. “Some people think I’m better than you.”

“Who?” Mabel spat, her finger tightening on the trigger. Her eyes flickered towards Will. “And he doesn’t count.”

There was a slight groan from behind you as one of the twins began to shift around. Mabel’s eyes flickered over your shoulder and her lips twisted angrily. Suddenly, she flipped the gun around and smacked you across the face with the butt.

Stars shot across your vision and you yelled in surprise and pain.

“Take your friends and get out of here,” Mabel muttered. “If I ever see you around here again, I will put a bullet into your head.”

She stormed out of the gaping hole which had once separated the dining room and the hall. Waddles’ body lit up with a blue glow and he was dragged out of the room after her, dripping blood along the way as he went.

Despite the pain in your ankle from landing on it and the dull throb in your head, the adrenaline was still working its way through your body. Slowly you dragged yourself away from the twins who had jumped up to go and check on their great uncles. Everything in your body ached but you kept moving until you made it to where Will sat.

A large gash ran across his forehead and his clothing was singed but there was no other outwardly visible damage. He was unconscious but breathing… more than you could say about Dipper.

You had never cared for your cousin, but he was still family. Looking at where he was lying, you suddenly felt sick to your stomach. You had grown up with him. You had spent the majority of family gettogethers hiding from him. You had always had some degree of affection for him.

The adrenaline drained out of you completely as you realized he was dead.

Tears began to pour down your face and all the pain in your body hit you full force. The head injury, your throbbing ankle, the invisible burns that littered your skin; it all ganged up on your system.

You barely managed to stop yourself from throwing up before you fell unconscious.


	20. Chapter 20: Home

You woke up back in your home, far away from Gravity Falls. The familiar appearance of your bedroom surrounded you. For a moment, you had a minor heart attack and the belief that it was all just a dream flooded your mind.

Thankfully Will caught your eye before you could go into a proper mourning state.

He was sitting on the edge of your bed and staring off into nothing. He looked a lot better than the last time you had seen him… at least physically. You reached out a hand to gently tap his shoulder.

Will startled and spun around to look at you. “You’re awake,” he muttered awkwardly. “How are you feeling? Did I manage to heal everything?”

“Um… yeah,” you said, subconsciously rubbing the back of your head. “What even happened?”

“I had to bring you back here,” he explained. “The others returned to their dimension and offered to take you with them but… but I didn’t think you’d want to leave your world behind so I brought you back here instead. I also healed your injuries the best I could but I’m not really good at that…”

True to his words, your injuries were far from fully healed. You could feel ghost pain on your leg and head especially. “But you were hurt also?” you pointed out.

Will shrugged. “Not badly. I was just put into a state of paralysis. Once I got out of it, I was fine.”

You pursed your lips and gave him a scrutinizing look. “I really wish I could believe you but at the same time, I really don’t.”

Will sighed and gave a small nod. His body shimmered slightly and the injury that you had previously seen slowly came into existence on his head along with a few others on his chest and arms that you must have missed.

You shoved your duvet off you and climbed out of the bed. “Wait here,” you told him.

The apartment was perfectly average-sized but somehow you always managed to lose things within the confines of its walls. After tearing up nearly every cupboard and stopping to greet your pet for the first time in a while, you managed to eventually find a bunch of first aid things and return quickly to your bedroom.

Will didn’t even glance up when you entered.

You took your time disinfecting the injuries and trying to get the gash to stop gaping without using stiches. The room was deadly silent while you worked.

“Is he really dead?” you asked after a while.

“Yes,” Will muttered. “The deal we made has been broken. That would only occur with Dipper’s death and Mabel ensured that.”

Your hands began to shake and you quickly moved them away from Will’s injuries. “I can’t believe it,” you muttered. “She killed him. She actually did it.” Tears ran down your cheeks. “I mean… I hated him and he always used to bully me but… but…”

Will awkwardly reached out his arms as though he wanted to hug you and you didn’t hesitate to take him up on his offer. Clinging desperately to his shirt, you tried to control your tears but failed.

It took nearly ten minutes for you to calm down completely. You knew nightmares would plague you for the rest of your life regarding this…

“Would you have wanted to go with them?” Will asked.

You wiped your tears away and sniffed a bit. “What?”

“To their dimension,” Will said. “You seemed to genuinely like it there. Should I have let them take you back with them. I can still take you there if you want.”

“No,” you said quickly. “I wouldn’t have wanted to go back. This is my home. My family and my friends are all here. I would miss it all far too much and there’s always the threat of Bill in that dimension… Mabel did say he’s not gone.”

“He won’t be able to get back into this dimension either,” Will quickly said. “I made sure of that the moment I had enough power to make it happen.”

You gave a small sigh of relief. “One less thing to plague my dreams,” you joked.

“You shouldn’t have nightmares,” Will said, his piercing blue eye felt like it was staring directly into your soul. “I placed down a rune to make sure your dreams are either good or non-memorable. It was quite different to what I was used to doing…”

Confusion colored your expression as you asked, “You were inside my mind?”

Will’s eye went wide and his words came out in a jumbled mess. “No. I mean, yes. It wasn’t for anything bad… I probably should have gotten your permission… although I just wanted to make sure –“

“It’s fine,” you said, cutting him off. “Really, I’m not angry or anything. It’s just, I’m not used to you using your powers at all.”

“It’s odd having them back,” Will mumbled. “After being so restricted…”

“Guess you’re happy about Dipper’s death,” you said. A sad smile appeared on your face when his expression changed. “I don’t blame you in the slightest.”

He shrugged. “It shocked me. Mabel’s killed a lot of things before but her own brother was never one that I expected.”

That statement sent shivers racing down your spine. You had always known Mabel was a little unstable but you had never viewed her as a killer. Even if Pacifica had claimed it… you had never actually believed it to be true. Now you knew that it was and even thinking about it was making you feel nauseous to your stomach.

“She didn’t even seem to care,” you muttered.

“She doesn’t,” Will explained. “She never has. And yet in another dimension, it’s all so different.”

You were about to respond but the words disappeared from your mind when you heard the front door swing open. Both you and will froze before you recognized the voice of your pet sitter wafting through the house.

Giving a sigh of relief, you hopped up and pushed open the door of your room. Will followed closely behind you.

“Hey Jadyn,” you greeted cheerily. “How’ve you been?”

The dark-haired girl startled initially but a huge smile appeared on her face upon recognizing you. “Hey!” she said. “What are you doing back so soon? Thought you were going to be in Gravity Falls for far longer.”

You rubbed the back of your neck awkwardly. “Yeah. That was the plan but plans changed. I was meaning to call you and let you know but I must have forgotten completely. Sorry about that.”

Jayden gave a dismissive wave. “Not to worry about it. As long as I get my pay, I’m good with anything.”

Having known the girl for quite a while, you felt perfectly comfortable in rolling your eyes at her. It was so odd to realize how much you had missed hanging around people you really considered to be your friends. People who knew _nothing_ about the supernatural.

“Are you going to introduce me to Mr. Blue over there or…?” Jayden asked, propping a hand up on her waist.

You smiled and stepped aside so that she could shake Will’s hand. “Jayden, meet Will. I met him while I was in Gravity Falls. A… friend of my cousin.”

She eyed him up and down and smirked. “And a friend of yours?”

For a second, you hesitated. Her implication was clear and you weren’t sure how to answer it. Finally, you came to a very simple conclusion. “He’s my boyfriend.”

Will startled but Jayden didn’t appear to notice in the slightest. She just gave you a wide smile. “About time you hooked up with somebody,” she commented. “And I think I like him but keep in mind, I’ll be watching you to make sure you keep her safe.”

“I’ll try my hardest,” Will mumbled, his blush only growing.

You pursed your lips, studying the two. It was odd to think about. The term boyfriend… but you liked it. Hopefully you could continue using it for a while.a


End file.
